''Aigrette'' was the lead boat of the 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 ...
between 1902 and 1905. Laid down in May 1902, she was
launched in February 1904 and
commissioned in 1908. She was essentially an experimental submarine, and although in service 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 ...
, saw no action. The class was designed by
Maxime Laubeuf
Maxime Laubeuf was a French maritime engineer of the late nineteenth century. He was born on 23 November 1864 at Poissy, Yvelines, and died on 23 December 1939 in Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes.
Laubeuf was a pioneer in the design and building of s ...
and used
Drzewiecki drop collar launchers and external cradles to launch torpedoes.
Design
''Aigrette'' had a
surfaced displacement of and a submerged displacement of . Her dimensions were long, with a
beam of and a
draught of . She had a single shaft powered by one diesel engine for surface running of and an electric motor which produced for submerged propulsion. The maximum speed was on the surface and while submerged with a surfaced range of at and a submerged range of at . Her complement was 14 men.
[Gardiner, p. 208][Fontenoy, p. 79]
The submarines armament comprised two
Drzewiecki drop collar torpedo launchers and two torpedoes in external cradles.
Construction and career
''Aigrette'' was ordered and laid down on 13 May 1902,
launched in February 1904 and
commissioned in 1908. She was the first submersible in the world to be launched which used a diesel engine for surface running
although the experimental submarine was both the first to be ordered and commissioned.
On 5 October 1904, hydrogen leaked out of the submarine's battery causing parts of it to explode,
and on 13 May 1908, she was sent to Toulon to serve as a training boat.
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 ...
, ''Aigrette'' served in defensive positions in
Brest
Brest may refer to:
Places
*Brest, Belarus
**Brest Region
**Brest Airport
**Brest Fortress
* Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria
* Břest, Czech Republic
*Brest, France
** Arrondissement of Brest
**Brest Bretagne Airport
** Château de Brest
*Br ...
and in Cherbourg.
In 1916, ''Aigrette'' participated in successful tests for underwater cutting of
anti-submarine net
An anti-submarine net or anti-submarine boom is a boom placed across the mouth of a harbour or a strait for protection against submarines.
Examples of anti-submarine nets
* Lake Macquarie anti-submarine boom
* Indicator net
* Naval operations in ...
s, but the result were never implemented in a warship before the end of the war.
''Aigrette'' was retired from service on 12 November 1919 and sold for scrap at Toulon on 14 April 1920.
See also
*
List of submarines of France
The submarines of France include Nuclear submarine, nuclear attack submarines and nuclear ballistic missile submarines of various List of submarine classes, classes, operated by the French Navy as part of the Submarine forces (France), French Subma ...
References
Citations
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aigrette (1904)
World War I submarines of France
Aigrette-class submarines
1904 ships