''Casabianca'' (Q183) was a
''Redoutable''-class submarine of the
French Navy
The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
. The class is also known as the "1500-ton class" and were termed in
French ''de grande patrouille''. She was named after
Luc-Julien-Joseph Casabianca
Luc-Julien-Joseph Casabianca (; 7 February 1762 – 1 August 1798) was an officer of the French Navy in the 18th century. He was killed at the Battle of the Nile.
Career
Casabianca distinguished himself in the Royal French Navy, was a depu ...
. Launched in 1935, she entered service in 1936. She escaped from
Toulon
Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
during the
scuttling of the fleet there on 27 November 1942, and continued in service with the
Allied forces. ''Casabianca'', commanded by ''Capitaine de frégate'' Jean l'Herminier, had a role in the
liberation of Corsica
Italian-occupied Corsica refers to the military (and administrative) occupation by the Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Kingdom of Italy of the island of Corsica during the Second World War, from November 1942 to September 1943. After an initial period ...
, and was an important link between occupied France and the
Free French government based in
Algiers.
''Casabianca'' was one of only five of the 31 ''Redoutable''-class submarines to survive the Second World War.
Service
It was initially planned to name the submarine ''Casablanca''.
Navy Minister François Piétri François Piétri (8 August 1882 – 17 August 1966) was a minister in several governments in the later years of the French Third Republic and was French ambassador to Spain from 1940 to 1944 under the Vichy regime.
Born in Bastia, Corsica to Anto ...
, who was Corsican, instead pressed for a navy vessel to be named in honour of
Luc-Julien-Joseph Casabianca
Luc-Julien-Joseph Casabianca (; 7 February 1762 – 1 August 1798) was an officer of the French Navy in the 18th century. He was killed at the Battle of the Nile.
Career
Casabianca distinguished himself in the Royal French Navy, was a depu ...
, a naval officer from Corsica who had served in the
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...
. The ''Casablanca'' was therefore renamed ''Casabianca'' prior to being launched.
In December 1939 ''Casabianca'' escorted .
''Casabianca'' was in port at Toulon in November 1942 when the Germans enacted ''
Case Anton'', the annexation of the area of France previously controlled by the
Vichy government
Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...
. On 27 November 1942 German forces attempted to take over the fleet at Toulon, leading its commanders to
order the ships to be scuttled to keep them out of German hands. ''Capitaine de corvette'' Jean L'Herminier, commander of ''Casabianca'', instead took his submarine out to sea and escaped to Algiers to join the Allies. The submarine was attacked by German aircraft during the voyage, and was shadowed by a
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
destroyer. Five other French submarines escaped from Toulon, two of which,
''Le Glorieux'' and ''
Marsouin'', served like ''Casabianca'' with the allies.
After arriving in Algiers, ''Casabianca'' passed under the orders of Admiral
François Darlan
Jean Louis Xavier François Darlan (7 August 1881 – 24 December 1942) was a French admiral and political figure. Born in Nérac, Darlan graduated from the ''École navale'' in 1902 and quickly advanced through the ranks following his service ...
, until his assassination on 24 December 1942. ''Casabianca'' was then under ''
Général
is the French word for general. There are two main categories of generals: the general officers (), which are the highest-ranking commanding officers in the armed forces, and the specialist officers with flag rank (), which are high-level office ...
''
Henri Giraud
Henri Honoré Giraud (18 January 1879 – 11 March 1949) was a French general and a leader of the Free French Forces during the Second World War until he was forced to retire in 1944.
Born to an Alsatian family in Paris, Giraud graduated from ...
, until Giraud's replacement by
Charles de Gaulle. ''Casabianca''s participation in operations around Corsica was one of the factors that led to Giraud's removal from office. She served mainly on intelligence gathering missions, supplying arms and delivering men to support the Corsican ''
Maquisards''. She played an important role in the eventual liberation of the island in September 1943. Her elusiveness earned her the nickname "Ghost Submarine" from the Germans.
The British conservative MP
Keith Monin Stainton
Keith Monin Stainton (8 November 1921 – 3 November 2001) was a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician World War II decorated veteran.
Keith Stainton was born in Kendal, Westmorland, the son of a Kendal butcher father and a B ...
served as a liaison officer aboard the submarine in 1943, whilst a Royal Navy lieutenant. From 1943 until 1944 Charles William Beattie, a Royal Navy Signals specialist, also served on board ''Casabianca'' to safeguard and interpret secret cyphers sent to the boat whilst out on station. He took part in many of the secret landings on the Corsican coast.
In her last mission, ''Casabianca'' landed 109 special forces men, a record for a submarine of her size. The men were landed on an isolated beach at Arone, near the village of
Piana, in the north west of Corsica, where a monument now exists.
After the liberation of Corsica, the ''Casabianca'' was used for regular patrols. In 1944 she was hit in a
friendly fire
In military terminology, friendly fire or fratricide is an attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy/hostile targets. Examples include misidentifying the target as hostile, cross-fire while en ...
accident by a British plane, and had to refit in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
until March 1945. In common with other ''Redoutable''-class submarines modernized in the United States, the original conning tower was considerably modified. Two radars were installed, as was a platform on the front to carry a 20 mm anti-aircraft gun.
The submarine was scrapped in 1956, but the conning tower survives — it has been on display in
Bastia
Bastia (, , , ; co, Bastìa ) is a commune in the department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest population of any commune on the is ...
near the harbour since 2004.
The two periscopes and the deck gun are visible, however the conning tower was truncated from the rear, where a second 20mm gun was replaced by a 13.2 double machine gun of French origins.
During her career ''Casabianca'' sank one warship with a torpedo and another with her
deck gun
A deck gun is a type of naval artillery mounted on the deck of a submarine. Most submarine deck guns were open, with or without a shield; however, a few larger submarines placed these guns in a turret.
The main deck gun was a dual-purpose ...
, sank a merchant vessel, carried out seven secret missions, assisted in the liberation of Corsica, and ran the German blockade of Toulon during her defection to the allies. Cited 7 times out of which 6 at the orders of the navy , ''Casabianca'' was decorated with the
Croix de guerre 1939–1945 and was awarded the
Red ''Fourragere'' of the
Légion d'honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
.
Namesakes
An anti-submarine ''
escorteur
The French term ''Escorteur'' (Escort Ship) appeared during the Second World War to designate a warship, of a medium or light displacement, whose mission was to protect ocean convoys and naval squadrons from attacks by submarines. This role was ...
'' was named ''Casabianca'' from 1957 until 1984. The
''Rubis''-class nuclear submarine
''Casabianca'' is named after the Second World War submarine.
''Casabianca'' in popular culture
The submarine's exploits were used as the basis for the 1951 film
''Casabianca'', starring
Pierre Dudan
Pierre Dudan (1916–1984) was a Russian-born Swiss actor and singer. He was born in Moscow to a Russian mother and a Swiss father. He married four times.
Selected filmography
* '' Night Warning'' (1946)
* '' The Fugitive'' (1947)
* '' The Lyons ...
and
Jean Vilar
Jean Vilar (25 March 1912– 28 May 1971) was a French actor and theatre director.
Vilar trained under actor and theatre director Charles Dullin, then toured with an acting company throughout France. His directorial career began in 1943 in a sma ...
. The ''Casabianca'' also appears in the 2007 novel ''The Double Agents'' by
W. E. B. Griffin
William Edmund Butterworth III (November 10, 1929 – February 12, 2019), better known by his pen name W. E. B. Griffin, was an American writer of military and detective fiction with 59 novels in seven series published under that name. Twenty-one ...
, book five of the ''
Men at War'' series.
Notes
References
Further reading
; History of ''Le Casabianca''
* Jean L'Herminier, Casabianca, Éditions France-Empire, first year edition 1953, year 1992,
* Toussaint Griffi, Laurent Preziosi, Première mission en Corse occupée, avec le sous-marin ''Casabianca'' (décembre 1942-mars 1943)'', Éditions L'Harmattan, year 1988
; Technical Documentation
* Les Sous-marins de 1 500 tonnes, Claude Picard, Rennes, Marines Editions, year 2006, total pages 119, ,
* Pierre Vincent-Bréchignac, Flottes de combat 1940-1942, Flottes de combat, Paris, year 1942
External links
*
Q183
{{DEFAULTSORT:Casabianca (Q183)
Submarines of France
Ships built in France
1935 ships
World War II submarines of France
Submarines of the Free French Naval Forces
Redoutable-class submarines (1928)