Clorinde-class submarine

Cornélie (far fight) and Clorinde (far left) at Cherbourg, 1920
Class overview
Name	Clorinde
Builders	Arsenal de Rochefort
Operators	French Navy
Preceded by	Charles Brun
Succeeded by	Gustave Zédé class
Built	1910–17
In service	1916–26
In commission	1916–26
Completed	2
Scrapped	2
General characteristics (as built)
Type	Submarine
Displacement	422 t (415 long tons) (surfaced) 574 t (565 long tons) (submerged)
Length	53.95 m (177 ft 0 in) (o/a)
Beam	5.1 m (16 ft 9 in) (deep)
Draft	3.45 m (11 ft 4 in)
Installed power	700–750  PS (510–550  kW; 690–740  hp) diesel engines 350  PS (260  kW; 350  hp) electric motors
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 diesels; 2 electric motors
Speed	13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) (surfaced) 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) (submerged)
Range	1,240–1,440  nmi (2,300–2,670 km; 1,430–1,660 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) (surfaced) 104 nmi (193 km; 120 mi) at 5.2 knots (9.6 km/h; 6.0 mph) (submerged)
Test depth	40 m (131 ft 3 in)
Complement	27 crew
Armament	2 × 450 mm (17.7 in) external torpedo launchers 6 × single 450 mm Drzewiecki drop collars 1 × single 47 mm (1.9 in) Hotchkiss deck gun

The Clorinde-class submarines were built for the French Navy prior to World War I. There were two boats in this class, neither of them would be used during World War I, but they operated in the Atlantic Ocean and the English Channel until they were stricken in 1926.

Construction

The Clorinde-class submarines were both built at Arsenal de Rochefort in November 1910, they were double-hulled submarines and built under the 1909 programme Project of Julien Hutter on the basis of Labeuf Brumaire. They were launched in 1913 and the first submarine Clorinde was completed in October 1916, while her sistership Cornélie was finished in September 1917. ^[1]

When they were completed, the submarine was 53.9 metres (176 ft 10 in) long, with a beam of 5.1 metres (16 ft 9 in) and a draft of 3.4 metres (11 ft 2 in). The submarine was assessed at 567  GRT. They had 2 MAN-Loire diesels / 2 NANCY-electric motors which were powered by diesel oil and the engine was rated at 800 nhp. Her max. depth was 40 metres (131 ft 3 in), they could hold 29 crew and they were armed with 2 450 mm (17.7 in) bow torpedo tubes, 6 single 450 mm Drzewiecki drop collars of which 4 were placed at the aft of the submarine. They each also held a single 47 mm (1.9 in) deck gun which was installed in 1916 when they entered service.

Ships

Name [2]	Launched [2]	Completed	Fate
Clorinde (Q90)	2 October 1913	17 September 1917	stricken, 15 January 1926
Cornélie (Q91)	29 October 1913	18 August 1916	stricken, 20 December 1926

Notes

1. Fontenoy, Paul E. (2007). Submarines: An Illustrated History of Their Impact. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN   9781851095636 . Retrieved 29 December 2015.
2. "French Submarines". worldnavalships.com. Retrieved 29 December 2015.

Bibliography

• Couhat, Jean Labayle (1974). French Warships of World War I. London: Ian Allan. ISBN   978-0-7110-0445-0.
• Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal (1985). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN   978-0-85177-245-5.
• Garier, Gérard (2002). A l'épreuve de la Grande Guerre. L'odyssée technique et humaine du sous-marin en France (in French). Vol. 3–2. Bourg-en-Bresse, France: Marines édition. ISBN   978-2-909675-81-7.
• Garier, Gérard (2000). Des Clorinde (1912-1916) aux Diane (1912–1917). L'odyssée technique et humaine du sous-marin en France (in French). Vol. 3–1. Bourg-en-Bresse, France: Marines édition. ISBN   978-2-909675-54-1.
• Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). "Classement par types". Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours 2, 1870 - 2006. Toulon: Roche. ISBN   978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC   165892922.