History | |
---|---|
Name: | Doris |
Builder: | Chantiers Schneider et Cie, Chalon-sur-Saône |
Laid down: | 1 February 1924 |
Launched: | 25 November 1927 |
Commissioned: | 26 May 1928 |
Fate: | Sunk, 9 May 1940 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type: | Circé-class coastal submarine |
Displacement: | |
Length: | 62.48 m (204.99 ft) [1] |
Beam: | 6.2 m (20.34 ft) [1] |
Draught: | 3.99 m (13.09 ft) [1] |
Propulsion: |
|
Speed: |
|
Range: | 3,500 miles |
Capacity: | 60t (oil) |
Complement: | 41 |
Armament: |
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Doris was a Circé-class coastal submarine of the French Navy, in service from 1928 until May 1940, when she was sunk off the Dutch coast by the German coastal submarine U-9. The wreck was rediscovered by Dutch divers in 2003.
The Circé-class submarines were a sub-class of the 600 Series of submarines built for the French Navy prior to World War II. There were four vessels in the class, built to a Schneider-Laubeuf design. They were ordered in 1925 and completed by 1927.
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term most commonly refers to a large, crewed vessel. It is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely operated vehicles and robots, as well as medium-sized or smaller vessels, such as the midget submarine and the wet sub. The noun submarine evolved as a shortened form of submarine boat; by naval tradition, submarines are usually referred to as "boats" rather than as "ships", regardless of their size.
The French Navy, informally "La Royale", is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces. Dating back to 1624, the French Navy is one of the world's oldest naval forces. It has participated in conflicts around the globe and played a key part in establishing the French colonial empire.
Doris was already obsolete by the beginning of the Second World War. The Circé-class was designed shortly after the First World War, around 1923. That was the year the shipyard at Toulon begun construction on Doris and her three sister ships. [2] She was launched in 1927 and commissioned in 1928.
Toulon is a city in southern France and a large military harbour on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department.
By the beginning of the Second World War the boat was part of the 10th French submarine flotilla, which was moved to English port of Harwich in April 1940 to reinforce the British Royal Navy. Doris, under captain Jean Favreul, crossed the English Channel on 14 April. During that time Doris suffered damage to the engine of the main gas compressor, responsible for producing the air to ascend after a dive. [2] The machine could not be repaired in Harwich, nor could the work be done in France as there was no spare part; the original compressors had been designed and produced in Germany. [2]
Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south. It is the northernmost coastal town within Essex.
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by the English kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years War against the Kingdom of France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is known as the Senior Service.
The English Channel, also called simply the Channel, is the body of water that separates Southern England from northern France and links the southern part of the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. It is the busiest shipping area in the world.
Despite being significantly crippled and unable to dive, Doris was ordered on 6 May 1940 to prepare for a sortie on patrol in the North Sea, north of the Frisian Islands, off the Dutch coast, guarding the east entrance to the English Channel, in anticipation of a possible German invasion of England. [2] The captain and the crew openly admitted in their letters to their families that they were not expecting to come back. [2] On 8 May the five British and seven French submarines, including Doris, departed to carry out their patrol. [2] On the following night, shortly after midnight, Doris was torpedoed and sunk north west of the Dutch coast, 30 miles from Den Helder, by the German submarine U-9 (1935) under Wolfgang Lüth at 52°47.36′N3°49.16′E / 52.78933°N 3.81933°E Coordinates: 52°47.36′N3°49.16′E / 52.78933°N 3.81933°E . [2] The entire crew of Doris, and three Royal Navy personnel, were lost.
The North Sea is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean located between the United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north. It is more than 970 kilometres (600 mi) long and 580 kilometres (360 mi) wide, with an area of 570,000 square kilometres (220,000 sq mi).
The Frisian Islands, also known as the Wadden Islands or the Wadden Sea Islands, form an archipelago at the eastern edge of the North Sea in northwestern Europe, stretching from the northwest of the Netherlands through Germany to the west of Denmark. The islands shield the mudflat region of the Wadden Sea from the North Sea.
A modern torpedo is a self-propelled weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with its target or in proximity to it.
Dutch divers Hans van Leeuwen and Ton van der Sluijs discovered the wreck of Doris in 2003. [2]
Scapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. Its sheltered waters have been used by ships since prehistory and it has played an important role in travel, trade and conflict throughout the centuries – especially during both World Wars.
ORP Orzeł was the lead ship of her class of submarines serving in the Polish Navy during World War II. Her name means "Eagle" in Polish. The boat is best known for the Orzeł incident, her escape from internment in neutral Estonia during the early stages of the Second World War.
HMS P41 was a Royal Navy U-class submarine built by Vickers-Armstrong. She was transferred to the exiled Royal Norwegian Navy before completion and renamed HNoMS Uredd. She and one of the B-class in 1940 have so far been the only Norwegian submarine to have been sunk.
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The British H-class submarines were Holland 602 type submarines used by the Royal Navy. The submarines constructed for the British Royal Navy between 1915 and 1919 were designed and built in response to German boats which mined British waters and sank coastal shipping with ease owing to their small size. The H class was created to perform similar operations in German waters, and to attack German submarines operating in British waters.
HMSOlympus was an Odin-class submarine, a class originally designed for the Royal Australian Navy to cope with long distance patrolling in Pacific waters. Olympus was built to the same design for the Royal Navy. She served from 1931 to 1939 on the China Station and 1939-1940 out of Colombo. In 1940 she went to the Mediterranean. She was sunk by a mine off Malta in May 1942. Her last commanding officer was Lt. Commander Herbert George Dymott, who was one of the 89 crew members killed in the sinking.
Y-1 Katsonis was a Greek submarine active during the Second World War. Katsonis, together with her sister ship, Papanikolis, formed the first class of Greek submarines ordered after the First World War. The submarine was built at the Gironde Bordeaux shipyards between 1925–27, and commissioned into the Hellenic Navy on 8 June 1928. Her first captain was Cdr Κ. Arvanitis.
HMS Firedrake was a modified Acheron-class destroyer, named after the firedrake of Teutonic mythology, and the sixth ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name.
Three submarines of the French Navy have borne the name Doris:
SM U-31 was one of the 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. U-31 was engaged in the naval warfare and took part in the First Battle of the Atlantic.
Fujikawa Maru was a cargo ship originally built in 1938 for the Toyo Kaiun Kisen Kaisha and was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II for use as an armed aircraft transport or ferry. She was sunk in Truk Lagoon in 1944 during Operation Hailstone and is now a leading wreck diving site for scuba divers.
Louhi was a Finnish Navy minelayer. The ship was originally constructed for the Imperial Russian Navy but was taken over by the Finns during the Russian Civil War. She had originally been named Voin, but was renamed as M1 in Finnish service. In 1936 she was given the more personal name Louhi, following the procedure of all other major ships in the Finnish navy.
O 16 was a unique submarine of the Royal Netherlands Navy that saw service during World War II. The design came from G. de Rooij and had a diving depth of 80 metres (260 ft). She was the first submarine of the Royal Netherlands Navy manufactured from high quality Steel 52. Also riveting was reduced 49% and replaced by welding when compared to preceding ships.
O 13 was an O 12-class submarine of the Royal Netherlands Navy that saw service during World War II. She was built by the Koninklijke Maatschappij De Schelde of Vlissingen. She was one of many Dutch ships doing convoy duty during the Spanish Civil War. At the time of the German invasion of the Netherlands, O 13 was on patrol off the Dutch coast and was attacked by German planes on multiple occasions. After fleeing to England, the sub was lost during a patrol on the North Sea.
The following index is provided as an overview of and topical guide to recreational dive sites:
Recreational dive sites – Specific places that recreational divers go to enjoy the underwater environment or are used for training purposes
The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.