French submarine Souffleur (1924)

For other ships with the same name, see French submarine Souffleur.

The French submarine Souffleur was a Requin-class submarine built for the French Navy in the mid-1920s. Laid down in October 1922, it was launched two years later and commissioned in August 1926. Souffleur was torpedoed and sunk on 25 June 1941 in the Mediterranean Sea off Beirut, Lebanon in position 33°49′N 35°26′E by the British submarine HMS Parthian.^[1][2]

Souffleur

Souffleur in 1926
History
France
Name	Souffleur
Builder	Arsenal de Cherbourg
Laid down	2 October 1922
Launched	1 October 1924
Commissioned	10 August 1926
Fate	Torpedoed by HMS Parthian on 25 June 1941 off Beyrut, Lebanon
General characteristics
Class and type	Requin-class submarine
Displacement	1,150 long tons (1,168 t) (surfaced) 1,441 long tons (1,464 t) (submerged)
Length	78.30 m (256 ft 11 in)
Beam	6.84 m (22 ft 5 in)
Draught	5.10 m (16 ft 9 in)
Propulsion	2 × diesel engines, 2,900 hp (2,163 kW) 2 × electric motors, 1,800 hp (1,342 kW)
Speed	15 knots (28 km/h) (surfaced) 9 knots (17 km/h) (submerged)
Range	7,700 nautical miles (14,300 km) at 9 knots (17 km/h) 70 nautical miles (130 km) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h) (submerged)
Test depth	80 m (260 ft)
Complement	51 men
Armament	10 × 550 mm (21.7 in) torpedo tubes 1 × 100 mm (3.9 in) deck gun 2 × 8 mm (0.31 in) machine guns

Design

78 m (255 ft 11 in) long, with a beam of 6.8 m (22 ft 4 in) and a draught of 5.1 m (16 ft 9 in), Requin-class submarines could dive up to 80 m (260 ft). The submarine had a surfaced displacement of 1,150 long tons (1,168 t) and a submerged displacement of 1,441 long tons (1,464 t). Propulsion while surfaced was provided by two 2,900 hp (2,163 kW) diesel motors and two 1,800 hp (1,342 kW) electric motors. The submarines' electrical propulsion allowed it to attain speeds of 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) while submerged and 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) on the surface. Their surfaced range was 7,700 nautical miles (14,300 km) at 9 knots (17 km/h), and 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h), with a submerged range of 70 nautical miles (130 km) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h).^[3]

Citations

1. "FR Souffleur of the French Navy – French submarine of the Requin class – Allied Warships of WWII". uboat.net. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
2. "Q 116 Le souffleur 2". sous-marin.france. Archived from the original on 20 December 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
3. "Requin Class French Submarines". battleships-cruisers.co. Retrieved 22 October 2018.

References

• Fontenoy, Paul E. (2007). Submarines: An Illustrated History of Their Impact (Weapons and Warfare). Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85109-563-6.