Gustave Zédé was a French

naval engineer A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...

and pioneering 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 ...

Early life

He was born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in February 1825. 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 ...

in November 1843 he qualified in 1845 as a

Marine engineer Marine engineering is the engineering of boats, ships, submarines, and any other marine vessel. Here it is also taken to include the engineering of other ocean systems and structures – referred to in certain academic and professional circl ...

and went to work at the Brest Naval Dockyard.

Career

By 1863 he was chief engineer in charge of ship-building under the direction of

Henri Dupuy de Lôme Stanislas Charles Henri Dupuy de Lôme (; 15 October 18161 February 1885) was a French naval architect. He was the son of a naval officer and was born in Ploemeur near Lorient, Brittany, in western France. He was educated at the École Polytechn ...

, and under his leadership Zédé helped design and build ''Gymnote'', the first practicable submarine, which was launched in 1880, In 1877 Zédé had become Director of Naval Construction, but in 1880 he left to be a director of the

Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée The ''Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée'' (FCM) was a French shipbuilding company. The ''Société des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée'' was founded in 1853 by Philip Taylor and subsequently incorporated in 1 ...

, a shipyard 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 ...

. In 1880 he started planning the construction of ''Sirene'', a larger version of the ''Gymnote'' and France's (and one of the world's) earliest commissioned naval submarines. ''Sirene'' was ordered by the French Navy in 1890, and launched in 1893. After Zédé's death she was renamed in his honour. Gustave Zédé died on 26 April 1891, from an explosion that occurred while he was testing the propulsion system for a new torpedo.

Recognition

*In 1866 Zédé was made an Officier ("Officer") 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, ...

*The French Navy has named for four ships after Zédé; two submarines and two surface ships *There are streets named for Zédé in Paris,

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

Lanester Lanester (; br, Lannarstêr) is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany, in north-western France. It is the largest suburb of the city of Lorient, across the river Scorff to the east. Demographics Inhabitants of Lanester are called ' ...

, in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

Notes

References

* Gustave Zédé at fr WP (French)
Gustave Zédé at netmarine
(French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Zede, Gustave 1825 births 1891 deaths École Polytechnique alumni French naval architects Submarine pioneers

Early life

Career

Recognition

Notes

See also

References