The ''Farfadet'' class consisted of four

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

s built for 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 ...

at the beginning of the 20th century designed by Gabriel Maugas. Two boats were lost in diving accidents. All were disposed of prior to the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Design and description

The ''Farfadet''s were designed by Gabriel Maugas, an early French submarine engineer at the Rochefort Naval Dockyard. The ''Farfadet''s were single-hulled, and powered by electric motors only, limiting their range and surface performance compared to the contemporary ''Sirene'' class. However they had

variable-pitch propeller Variable-pitch propeller can refer to: *Variable-pitch propeller (marine) *Variable-pitch propeller (aeronautics) In aeronautics, a variable-pitch propeller is a type of propeller (airscrew) with blades that can be rotated around their long a ...

s, developed by Maugas, obviating the need for a reversing engine. The submarines displaced surfaced and submerged. They had an

overall length The overall length (OAL) of an ammunition cartridge is a measurement from the base of the brass shell casing to the tip of the bullet, seated into the brass casing. Cartridge overall length, or "COL", is important to safe functioning of reloads in ...

of , a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of , and a draft of . They had an operational diving depth of . Their crew numbered 2 officers and 23 enlisted men. For surface running, the boats were powered by two Sautter-Harlé

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

s, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 300-metric-horsepower

electric motor An electric motor is an Electric machine, electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a Electromagneti ...

. They could reach a maximum speed of on the surface and underwater. The ''Farfadet'' class had a surface endurance of at and a submerged endurance of at . The boats were armed with four internal

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s, two in the bow and two in the stern, for which they carried six

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

es.Garier 1998, pp. 18–19

Service history

The ''Farfadet''s were ordered as part of the French Navy's 1899 building programme, and were constructed over the next three years at the naval dockyards at

Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...

. However they were not successful in service; ''Farfadet'' was lost in a diving accident in July 1905, and ''Lutin'' in October 1906. ''Farfadet'' was raised and recommissioned as ''Follet'', remaining in service until 1911, but the other three vessels were disarmed and converted to other use.

Ships

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Farfadet-class submarine Submarine classes Ship classes of the French Navy