Gabriel Maugas was a French naval engineer and designer of

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 at the beginning of the 20th century, designing several submarine classes 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 ...

in that period. He also held various managerial posts in French industry.

Early life

Maugas was born in

Fromental Fromental (; oc, Fromentau) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in west-central France. Geography The river Semme flows through the commune's northern part and forms part of its northern and western bor ...

Haute Vienne Haute-Vienne (; oc, Nauta Vinhana, ; English: Upper Vienne) is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwest-central France. Named after the Vienne River, it is one of the twelve departments that together constitute Nouvelle-Aquitain ...

, in December 1866. After studying at the

École Polytechnique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

he qualified as a marine engineer, working at the Rochefort Naval Dockyard.Gabriel Maugas
at wikimanche.fr (French)

Career

Maugas was involved in submarine design in the late 19th century and early 20th century, producing the ''Farfadet'' class in 1899 and the ''Émeraude'' class in 1903. He also produced an experimental design, the submarine ''Z'' (Q36). Maugas's designs favoured a single-hull construction, though he adopted dual propulsion, as opposed to earlier single-engine designs, integrating diesel engines for surface propulsion with electric motors when submerged. He also perfected a reversible screw, obviating the need for a ship to carry a reversing engine. In 1911 he was appointed chief engineer at the

Toulon Arsenal The military port of Toulon (french: arsenal de Toulon) is the principal base of the French Navy and the largest naval base in the Mediterranean, sited in the city of Toulon. It holds most of France's force d'action navale, comprising the aircr ...

, and served during 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 ...

as an advisor to Marshal Foch. After the war Maugas was director of the HADIR (''Hauts-Fourneaux et Aciéries de Differdange-St Ingebert-Rumelange'') steel works in Differdange,

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

. Gabriel Maugas
at industrie.lux (French) The rue Gabriel Maugas in Differdange is named after him. Maugas died in October 1931.

Recognition

Gabriel Maugas was made Knight (" Chevalier") of the

Legion of Honour 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, ...

in July 1902. He became an Officer of the Legion of Honour in July 1912, and was made

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

in April 1921. He has a street named after him in Differdange.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maugas, Gabriel École Polytechnique alumni French naval architects Submarine pioneers 1866 births 1931 deaths People from Haute-Vienne