French submarine Ouessant (Q180)

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Ouessant
Sous marin Ajax.jpg
Ouessant's sister ship Ajax in 1930
History
Civil and Naval Ensign of France.svgFrance
NameOuessant
Namesake Ushant, an island in the English Channel
Operator French Navy
Builder Arsenal de Cherbourg, Cherbourg,  France
Laid down30 January or 4 April 1932
Launched30 November 1936
Commissioned1 February 1937
Fate Scuttled 18 June 1940
General characteristics
Class and type Redoutable-class submarine
Displacement
  • 1,572 tonnes (1,547 long tons) (surfaced)
  • 2,092 tonnes (2,059 long tons) (submerged)
Length92.3 m (302 ft 10 in)
Beam8.1 m (26 ft 7 in) [1]
Draft4.4 m (14 ft 5 in) (surfaced)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 17.5 kn (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph) (surfaced)
  • 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) (submerged)
Range
  • 14,000 nmi (26,000 km; 16,000 mi) at 7 kn (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) (surfaced)
  • 10,000 nmi (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) (surfaced)
  • 4,000 nmi (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) at 17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph) (surfaced)
  • 90 nmi (170 km; 100 mi) at 7 kn (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) (submerged)
Test depth80 m (262 ft)
Complement
Armament

Ouessant was a French Navy Redoutable-class submarine of the M6 series commissioned in 1937. She participated in World War II on the side of the Allies until she was scuttled in 1940.

Contents

Characteristics

Profile of Casabianca, sister ship of Ouessant. Casabianca profile view.svg
Profile of Casabianca, sister ship of Ouessant.

Ouessant was part of a fairly homogeneous series of 31 deep-sea patrol submarines also called "1,500-tonners" because of their displacement. All entered service between 1931 and 1939.

The Redoutable-class submarines were 92.3 metres (302 ft 10 in) long and 8.1 metres (26 ft 7 in) in beam and had a draft of 4.4 metres (14 ft 5 in). They could dive to a depth of 80 metres (262 ft). They displaced 1,572 tonnes (1,547 long tons) on the surface and 2,082 tonnes (2,049 long tons) underwater. Propelled on the surface by two diesel engines producing a combined 6,000 horsepower (4,474 kW), they had a maximum speed of 18.6 knots (34.4 km/h; 21.4 mph). When submerged, their two electric motors produced a combined 2,250 horsepower (1,678 kW) and allowed them to reach 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). Also called "deep-cruising submarines", their range on the surface was 10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). Underwater, they could travel 100 nautical miles (190 km; 120 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph).

Construction and commissioning

Laid down at Arsenal de Cherbourg in Cherbourg,  France, on either 30 January or 4 April 1932, [2] according to different sources, with the hull number Q180, Ouessant was launched on 30 November 1934. [2] She was commissioned on 1 February 1937. [2]

Service history

1937–1939

Based on the experiences of other French submarines, which had made endurance cruises to places such as Argentina, Douala in French Cameroon, and French Indochina in Southeast Asia, an air refrigeration system was installed aboard Ouessant and her sister ship Agosta to test its utility in improving the habitability of French submarines in tropical climates. [3] In 1938, Ouessant′s ballast tanks were galvanized. [3]

On 4 May 1938, Ouessant visited Dakar in Senegal. [3]

World War II

At the start of World War II on 1 September 1939, Ouessant was assigned to the 8th Submarine Division of the 4th Submarine Squadron, an element of the 1st Squadron of the Forces de haute mer (High Seas Force), based at Brest, France. Her sister ships Agosta, Bévéziers, and Sidi Ferruch made up the rest of the division. [4] That day, Ouessant, Agosta, and their sister ships Achille and Casabianca got underway from Brest to investigate the waters around Vigo, Spain, and report on the presence of German ships and submarines there. [3] France declared war on 3 September 1939, and on 4 September the mission was cancelled and the submarines returned to Brest. [3]

On 14 September 1939, Ouessant, Agosta, Achille, Casabianca, and their sister ships Pasteur and Sfax received orders to establish a permanent patrol off Vigo, where German merchant ships — which the Allies suspected of serving as supply ships for German U-boats — had taken refuge upon the outbreak of war. [3] [5] They continued the patrols off Vigo until the end of October 1939. [3]

Ouessant and the rest of the 8th Submarine Division next left European waters and proceeded to Fort-de-France on Martinique in the French West Indies to conduct patrols in the vicinity of Trinidad the British had requested. [3] [6] Ouessant patrolled primarily in the Columbus Channel, also known as the Serpent's Mouth, between Trinidad and Venezuela. [3]

On 12 January 1940, Ouessant departed Fort-de-France in company with Agosta bound for Brest. [3] After a stop at Casablanca in French Morocco, the two submarines arrived at Brest on 1 February 1940 and began a major overhaul. [3]

Ouessant was still undergoing overhaul when German ground forces advanced into France on 10 May 1940, beginning the Battle of France, and Italy declared war on France on 10 June 1940 and joined the invasion. As German ground forces approached Brest, Ouessant, unable to get underway, was scuttled at 19:00 on 18 June 1940 to prevent her capture by the Germans. [7]

The Germans refloated Ouessant in 1942 to clear her berth and towed her to Bordeaux, France, where they hulked her for use as a floating power station. [3] They scuttled her at Pauillac, France, in 1944. [3]

Post-World War II

Ouessant was refloated again in 1948. [3] She subsequently served as a wreck lifter along with Agosta. [3]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Redoutable</i>-class submarine (1928)

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French submarine <i>Redoutable</i> (1928)

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French submarine <i>Ajax</i> (1930)

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French submarine <i>Persée</i>

The Persée was a Redoutable-class submarine in the navies of the French Third Republic and Vichy France. Belonging to the M6 series, it was launched in 1931. The vessel was damaged by an explosion while undergoing sea trials off the coast of France, killing two aboard and wounding several others. Based at Brest at the onset of the Second World War, Persée joined in the search for the German merchant fleet still at sea. The vessel joined the Vichy France Navy and transferred first to Casablanca then Dakar. Persée was attacked at Dakar where the submarine was torpedoed on the surface by a British ship. The vessel was set afire and sank, with the entirety of the crew rescued save one.

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French submarine <i>Henri Poincaré</i> (Q140)

Henri Poincaré was a French Navy Redoutable-class submarine of the M6 series commissioned in 1931. She participated in World War II, first on the side of the Allies from 1939 to June 1940, then in the navy of Vichy France until she was scuttled at Toulon in November 1942. The Italians seized her, refloated her, and renamed her FR 118, then scuttled her in September 1943. The Germans later scrapped her wreck.

French submarine <i>Archimède</i> (Q142)

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French submarine <i>Sfax</i>

Sfax was a French Navy Redoutable-class submarine of the M6 series commissioned in 1936. She participated in World War II, first on the side of the Allies from 1939 to June 1940 and then in the navy of Vichy France until a German submarine mistook her for an Allied submarine and sank her in December 1940.

French submarine <i>Achille</i> (Q147)

Achille was a French Navy Redoutable-class submarine of the M6 series commissioned in 1933. She participated in World War II until she was scuttled in June 1940.

French submarine <i>Pasteur</i>

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French submarine <i>Argo</i>

Argo was a French Navy Redoutable-class submarine of the M6 series commissioned in 1933. She participated in World War II, first on the side of the Allies from 1939 to June 1940, then in the navy of Vichy France until November 1942, and finally in the Free French Naval Forces through the end of the war. Along with Archimède, Casabianca, Le Centaure, and Le Glorieux, she was one of only five out of the 31 Redoutable-class submarines to survive the war.

French submarine <i>Le Centaure</i> (Q169)

Le Centaure was a French Navy Redoutable-class submarine of the M6 ​​series commissioned in 1935. She participated in World War II, first on the side of the Allies from 1939 to June 1940, then in the navy of Vichy France until November 1942. She then returned to the Allied side, operating as part of the Free French Naval Forces. Along with Archimède, Argo, Casabianca, and Le Glorieux, she was one of only five out of the 31 Redoutable-class submarines to survive the war. She remained in French Navy service after World War II, and was decommissioned in 1952.

French submarine <i>Pascal</i> (Q138)

Pascal was a French Navy Redoutable-class submarine of the M6 series commissioned in 1931. She participated in World War II, first on the side of the Allies from 1939 to June 1940, then in the navy of Vichy France until she was scuttled at Toulon in November 1942. She was never again seaworthy, but the Italians seized her and refloated her, and the Germans later took control of her. She was sunk in March 1944.

French submarine <i>Fresnel</i> (Q143)

Fresnel was a French Navy Redoutable-class submarine of the M6 series commissioned in 1932. She participated in World War II, first on the side of the Allies from 1939 to June 1940, then in the navy of Vichy France until she was scuttled at Toulon in November 1942. She was never again seaworthy, but the Italians seized her and refloated her, and the Germans later took control of her. She was sunk in March 1944.

French submarine <i>Achéron</i>

Achéron was a French Navy Redoutable-class submarine of the M6 series commissioned in 1932. She participated in World War II, first on the side of the Allies from 1939 to June 1940, then in the navy of Vichy France. She was scuttled in November 1942.

French submarine <i>Le Tonnant</i> (Q172)

Le Tonnant was a French Navy Redoutable-class submarine of the M6 series commissioned in 1937. She participated in World War II, first on the side of the Allies from 1939 to June 1940, then in the navy of Vichy France. She was scuttled in November 1942.

French submarine <i>Sidi Ferruch</i> (Q181) WWII French submarine

Sidi Ferruch was a French Navy Redoutable-class submarine of the M6 series commissioned in 1939. She participated in World War II, first on the side of the Allies from 1939 to June 1940, then in the navy of Vichy France. She was sunk in November 1942.

French submarine <i>Agosta</i> (Q178) WWII French submarine

Agosta was a French Navy Redoutable-class submarine of the M6 series commissioned in 1937. She participated in World War II on the side of the Allies until she was scuttled in 1940.

French submarine <i>Le Glorieux</i> World War II French submarine

Le Glorieux (Glorious) was a French Navy Redoutable-class submarine of the M6 series commissioned in 1934. She participated in World War II, first on the side of the Allies from 1939 to June 1940, then in the navy of Vichy France until November 1942. She then returned to the Allied side, operating as part of the Free French Naval Forces. Along with Archimède, Argo, Casabianca, and Le Centaure, she was one of only five out of the 31 Redoutable-class submarines to survive the war. She remained in French Navy service after World War II, and was decommissioned in 1952.

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "FR Ajax of the French Navy – French Submarine of the Redoutable class – Allied Warships of WWII". uboat.net. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 Allied Warships: FR Ouessant, uboat.net Accessed 18 August 2022
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 u-boote.fr OUESSANT (in French) Accessed 20 August 2022
  4. ↑ Huan, p. 49.
  5. ↑ Huan, pp. 60–61.
  6. ↑ Huan.
  7. ↑ Huan, p. 79.

Bibliography

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