''Maurice Callot'' was a

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 ...

minelayer

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 ...

commissioned in 1922, the first minelayer submarine designed and built in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. She was decommissioned in 1936. ''Maurice Callot'' — originally named ''Pierre Callot'' — was named for the

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

of the submarine , '' Lieutenant de vaisseau'' Pierre Félix Maurice Callot, who perished when ''Pluviôse'' was sunk in a collision with the loss with all hands on 26 May 1910.

Design

double-hulled A double hull is a ship hull design and construction method where the bottom and sides of the ship have two complete layers of watertight hull surface: one outer layer forming the normal hull of the ship, and a second inner hull which is some dis ...

Sous-Marins Français Disparus & Accidents: Maurice-Callot (in French) Accessed 30 April 2023
/ref> ocean-going

, ''Maurice Callot'' was the first minelayer

designed and built in France. She was long, with 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 .''Conway′s 1906–1921'', p. 213.Labayle Couhat, p. 159. Her surface

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and Physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

was , and her submerged displacement was . She was propelled on the surface by two

Schneider Schneider may refer to: Hospital * Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel People * Schneider (surname) Companies and organizations * G. Schneider & Sohn, a Bavarian brewery company * Schneider Rundfunkwerke AG, the former owner of th ...

two-stroke diesel engines producing a combined . Underwater propulsion was provided by two Schneider

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 ...

s producing a combined . The twin-

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

propulsion system made it possible to reach a speed of on the surface and when submerged.Gozdawa-Gołębiowski & Wywerka Prekurat, p. 536. She had a range of at on the surface and at underwater. ''Maurice Callot''′s main armament consisted of 27 Sautter-Harlé mines, stored and laid using the Maxime Laubeuf minelaying system. The mines were stowed abaft the

conning tower A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer in charge can conn the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for the ship's engine, rudder, lines, and gro ...

in three lines of nine mines each. The three mine lines were located inside the outer

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

and above the inner

pressure hull A submarine hull has two major components, the ''light hull'' and the ''pressure hull''. The light hull (''casing'' in British usage) of a submarine is the outer non-watertight hull which provides a hydrodynamically efficient shape. The pressure ...

and

ballast tank A ballast tank is a compartment within a boat, ship or other floating structure that holds water, which is used as ballast to provide hydrostatic stability for a vessel, to reduce or control buoyancy, as in a submarine, to correct trim or list, ...

s. Each mine's

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄγ ...

ing weight was stowed on a horizontal axis with the float toward ''Maurice Callot''′s bow. Each mine′s frame had six rollers which rested on two rails made of angle bars attached to the hull. During

minelaying A minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for installing controll ...

operations an "endless" chain running under each of the three lines of mines and driven via gearing by two electric motors pulled the mines in their frames along the rails toward the stern for laying. A the mines travelled aft, they ultimately became inclined 60 degrees from the horizontal before their release. The minelaying system was designed so that ''Maurice Callot'', submerged and making , could lay one mine from each of her three mine lines every 12 seconds, resulting in the individual mines being spaced apart after they were laid. She could lay mines simultaneously from all three of her mine lines or from any two of them, and she also could lay each mine line separately. The laying of mines did not appreciably affect her

trim Trim or TRIM may refer to: Cutting * Cutting or trimming small pieces off something to remove them ** Book trimming, a stage of the publishing process ** Pruning, trimming as a form of pruning often used on trees Decoration * Trim (sewing), or ...

. Rounding out ''Maurice Callot''′s armament were six

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, four internal at the bow and two at the

stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Ori ...

, a total of eight

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, and a deck gun. Her crew consisted of three

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

and 45 petty officers and seamen. During ''Maurice Callot''′s service life, her

system was modified, with the Laubeuf system being replaced by the Fernand Fenaux system, in which the mines were stored in wells placed in external

s, with a direct release mechanism.

Construction and commissioning

''Maurice Callot'' was ordered with the name ''Pierre Callot'' during

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 ...

on 20 March 1917 as part of France's 1917 naval expansion program. Her

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

Forges et Chantiers de la Gironde Forges et Chantiers de la Gironde (literally translated ''Forges and dockyards of the Gironde'') was a French shipbuilder at Lormont near Bordeaux on the Gironde estuary. The company was previously called ''Usine de construction navale Chaigneau e ...

, in Lormont,

, in May 1917.Labayle Couhat, p. 160. She was renamed ''Maurice Callot'' on 23 June 1920. She was launched on either 26 March or 23 June 1921, according to different sources. During ''Maurice Callot''′s sea trials her

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

bow

plane Plane(s) most often refers to: * Aero- or airplane, a powered, fixed-wing aircraft * Plane (geometry), a flat, 2-dimensional surface Plane or planes may also refer to: Biology * Plane (tree) or ''Platanus'', wetland native plant * Planes (gen ...

was torn off while she was at sea on 17 August 1921. On 29 August 1921, her

starboard Port and starboard are nautical terms for watercraft and aircraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the bow (front). Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which are ...

bow plane also was torn off at sea. She was completed in 1922. She was commissioned either in 1922 or on 8 November 1923, according to different sources. She had no Q-series

pennant number In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...

Service history

''Maurice Callot'' spent her entire career in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

with the 3rd and 7th Submarine Squadrons.. On 19 December 1923, she again lost her port bow plane when it was torn off at sea. The 14 August 1925 edition of the magazine ''

Engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

'' reported that ''Maurice Callot'' had "recently" completed a 50-day endurance test in the Mediterranean Sea. ''Maurice Callot'' suffered serious damage to her port diesel engine on 1 February 1926, and the door of her No. 4

sustained damage while she was at sea on 19 February 1926. One of her crewmen died on 24 June 1926, but sources do not describe the circumstances of his death.

Disposal

''Maurice Callot'' was placed in the "normal

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

" on 21 January 1935. She was decommissioned in 1936. She was condemned and stricken from the navy list on 28 January 1938 and sold at

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 ...

, France, on 24 November 1938 for scrapping.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * . * .

External links

* . * . * . *. * . * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maurice Callot (1921) 1921 ships Ships built in France Submarines of the French Navy Minelayers of the French Navy Maritime incidents in 1921 Maritime incidents in 1923 Maritime incidents in 1926 French Navy ship names