French submarine ''Foucault'' (Q70) was a Laubeuf type

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 ...

Jane p199 of the ''Brumaire'' class, 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 ...

prior to

World War I 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 ...

.Conway p209

Design and construction

''Foucault'' was ordered by the French Navy as part of its 1906 programme and was laid down at the Cherbourg Naval Yard in November of that year. Work progressed slowly, and she was not launched until 15 June 1912. She was commissioned on 20 June 1914. ''Foucault'' was equipped with licence-built

M.A.N. MAN SE (abbreviation of ''Maschinenfabrik Augsburg- Nürnberg'', ) was a manufacturing and engineering company based in Munich, Germany. Its primary output was commercial vehicles and diesel engines through its MAN Truck & Bus and MAN Latin Am ...

diesel engines for surface propulsion, and electric motors for power while submerged. She carried eight torpedoes, two internally and six externally. ''Foucault'' was named for

Léon Foucault Jean Bernard Léon Foucault (, ; ; 18 September 1819 – 11 February 1868) was a French physicist best known for his demonstration of the Foucault pendulum, a device demonstrating the effect of Earth's rotation. He also made an early measurement ...

, the 19th century French physicist.Castel

Service history

At 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 ...

''Foucault'' was part of the French Mediterranean Fleet, and sailed with that force to the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...

tasked with bringing the

Austro-Hungarian fleet Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with t ...

to battle or blockading it in its home ports. On 15 September 1916, while on patrol off

Cattaro Kotor (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a coastal town in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative c ...

under the command of Lt. L. Devin, ''Foucault'' was spotted under the surface by two Austro-Hungarian

Lohner L The Lohner L was a reconnaissance flying boat produced in Austria-Hungary during World War I. It was a two-bay biplane of typical configuration for the flying boats of the day, with its Pusher configuration, pusher engine mounted on struts in th ...

seaplanes. These were L132, flown by Lts. Konjovics and Sewera, and L135 (Lts. Zelezny and Klimburg). The two planes bombed ''Foucault'', scoring hits which forced her to surface. Unable to dive and without power, Devin ordered her to be abandoned and scuttled. All her crew escaped without casualties. The seaplanes landed and took the crew prisoner, holding them until the arrival of an Austrian torpedo boat. This incident was the first instance of a submarine at sea being sunk by air attack.Price pxiii-xivSieche

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * Moore, J: ''Jane’s Fighting Ships of World War I'' (1919, reprinted 2003) * Price, A: ''Aircraft versus Submarine'' (1973)

External links

Castel, Marc: ''Foucault'' at Sous-marins Français 1863 - pagesperso-orange.fr
(French)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foucault Brumaire-class submarines World War I submarines of France 1911 ships Ships built in France Maritime incidents in 1916 Scuttled vessels Lost submarines of France World War I shipwrecks in the Adriatic Sea Submarines sunk by aircraft