The Aurore class was a class of fifteen coastal submarines designed for the French Navy. The prototype – Aurore – was authorised in 1934, the next four in 1937, a further four in 1938, two in 1938, and a final four subsequently. Some of the ships were captured by Nazi Germany after the Fall of France, most of them in an unfinished state; two were intended to be completed for the German Navy, Africaine becoming UF-1 and Favorite becoming UF-2, but only the first was completed during the World War II, the second reverting to French control while still uncompleted.
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Quick Facts Class overview, General characteristics ...
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| Class overview |
|---|
| Name | Aurore |
| Builders | Le Havre, Nantes, Toulon, Chalon-sur-Saône, Rouen |
| Operators | |
| Preceded by | Minerve class |
| Succeeded by | Narval class |
| In service | 1939–1962 |
| Planned | 15 |
| Completed | 7 |
| Cancelled | 8 |
| General characteristics |
|---|
| Type | Submarine |
| Displacement |
- 900 tonnes (890 long tons) surfaced
- 1,170 tonnes (1,150 long tons) submerged
|
| Length | 73.5 m (241 ft 2 in) |
| Beam | 6.5 m (21 ft 4 in) |
| Draught | 4.2 m (13 ft 9 in) |
| Propulsion |
- Diesel: 2,200 kW (3,000 shp)
- 1,000 kW (1,400 hp) electrical
|
| Speed |
- 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) surfaced
- 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) submerged
|
| Range |
- 5,600 nmi (10,400 km; 6,400 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
- 80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h) submerged
|
| Test depth | 100 m (330 ft) |
| Armament |
- 1 × 100 mm (3.9 in) deck gun
- 2 × 13.2 mm (0.52 in) machine guns
- 9 × 550 mm (21.7 in) torpedo tubes (4 bow internal, 3 external amidships, and 2 stern external)
|
Close
Five of the submarines, Andromède, Astrée, Africaine, Artémis and Créole, were completed after the war, were commissioned in the French Navy and served into the 1960s. Andromède, Artémis and Créole were fitted with GUPPY sails and submarine snorkels.
- Builder: Toulon
- Ordered: 1934
- Laid down: December 1935
- Launched: 26 July 1939
- Fate: Scuttled during the scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon on 27 November 1942
- Builder: Le Havre
- Ordered: 1937
- Laid down: December 1937
- Launched: 8 June 1940
- Fate: Broken up in 1961
- Builder: Le Havre
- Ordered: 1937
- Laid down: December 1937
- Launched: -
- Fate: Broken up in June 1940 still on keel, never finished
- Builder: Rouen
- Ordered: 1937
- Laid down: December 1937
- Launched: September 1938
- Fate: Taken by the German, becoming UF-2; scuttled in 1945 at Gotenhafen
- Builder: Rouen
- Ordered: 1937
- Laid down: December 1937
- Launched:7 December 1946
- Fate: Broken up in 1963
- Builder: Nantes
- Ordered: 1938
- Laid down: November 1938
- Launched: 3 May 1946
- Fate: Broken up in 1965
- Builder: Nantes
- Ordered: 1938
- Laid down: November 1938
- Launched: 17 November 1949
- Fate: Broken up in 1965
- Builder: Chalon-sur-Saône
- Ordered: 1938
- Laid down: November 1938
- Launched: -
- Fate: Broken up in 1940 still on keel, never finished
- Builder: Rouen
- Ordered: 1938
- Laid down: November 1938
- Launched: -
- Fate: Broken up in 1940 still on keel, never finished
- Builder: Le Havre
- Ordered: 1939
- Laid down: May 1939
- Launched: 28 June 1942
- Fate: Broken up in 1967
- Builder: Rouen
- Ordered: 1938
- Laid down: May 1939
- Launched: -
- Fate: Broken up in 1940 still on keel, never finished
- Builder: Le Havre
- Ordered: 1939
- Launched:
- Fate: Broken up on keel while only 8% built
- Builder: Le Havre
- Ordered:
- Launched:
- Fate: Broken up on keel while only 5% built
- Builder: Nantes
- Ordered:
- Launched:
- Fate: Broken up in 1940 still on keel, never finished
- Builder:
- Ordered:
- Launched:
- Fate: Keel never laid
- Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
