The French submarine ''Rubis'' (H4, 202, P15) was a minelaying

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 ...

which first served in the French submarine pavilion, then the

Free French Naval Forces The Free French Naval Forces (french: Forces Navales Françaises Libres, or FNFL) were the naval arm of the Free French Forces during the Second World War. They were commanded by Admiral Émile Muselier. History In the wake of the Armistice a ...

(FNFL) during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and back with 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 ...

. The boat was awarded numerous awards. Accordingly, as a result of ''Rubis''s service with the FNFL, the boat was made a companion of the

Ordre de la Libération The Order of Liberation (french: Ordre de la Libération) is a French Order which was awarded to heroes of the Liberation of France during World War II. It is a very high honour, second only after the ''Légion d’Honneur'' (Legion of Honour ...

by a decree issued by General

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

on 14 October 1941.

Career

After serving in

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 ...

with the 7th and later 5th Submarine Squadrons, in 1937 ''Rubis'' was transferred to

Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...

. During the Norwegian campaign, in May 1940, ''Rubis'' laid mines off the Norwegian coast; the boat's mines claimed four Norwegian vessels in May and June, and a further three merchant ships in July. At the time of the French surrender on 22 June 1940, the boat was in the port of

Dundee, Scotland Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

in the United Kingdom, where the boat promptly joined the pavilion of the

Free French Forces __NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army (french: Armée française de la Libération or AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (french: Forces françaises libres, l ...

. At that time, she was commanded by

Capitaine de Corvette Corvette captain is a rank in many navies which theoretically corresponds to command of a corvette (small warship). The equivalent rank in the United Kingdom, Commonwealth, and United States is lieutenant commander. The Royal Canadian Navy use ...

Georges Cabanier Admiral Georges Cabanier (21 November 1906 – 26 October 1976) was a French Naval Officer and Admiral, in addition to Grand Chancellor of the Legion of Honour. Military career Entered into the École Navale in 1925, he navigated on several n ...

. Whilst minelaying off Norway in mid-1941, ''Rubis'' encountered and torpedoed a Finnish merchant ship. Later in the war, the boat laid mines in the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...

, claiming three German auxiliary

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

s, an armed trawler, and a

Vichy French Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

in 1942, and a fourth auxiliary minesweeper in 1943. Operating off

Stavanger Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...

in September 1944, the boat's mines claimed two auxiliary

submarine chaser A submarine chaser or subchaser is a small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. Many of the American submarine chasers used in World War I found their way to Allied nations by way of Lend-Lease in World War II. ...

s and two merchant ships. In October and November, ''Rubis'' continued in Norwegian waters, damaging but not sinking two vessels. On 21 December, the boat's mines claimed three auxiliary submarine chasers, a German merchant ship, and a minesweeper. Throughout the war, ''Rubis'' made 22 operational patrols, laying nearly 683 mines and sinking some 21,000 GRT of shipping. With 22 ships sunk (14 of them German, including 12 warships), ''Rubis'' achieved the highest kill number in the FNFL. From 1946 to 1948, she was used as a

school ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house classr ...

for rigging in Toulon. ''Rubis'' was struck on 4 October 1949, and was sunk on 31 January 1958 to be used as a

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...

target. The wreck lies underwater between Cavalaire and

Saint-Tropez , INSEE = 83119 , postal code = 83990 , image coat of arms = Blason ville fr Saint-Tropez-A (Var).svg , image flag=Flag of Saint-Tropez.svg Saint-Tropez (; oc, Sant Tropetz, ; ) is a commune in the Var department and the region of Provence-Al ...

, and has become a popular diving attraction.

Ships sunk or damaged

1940

*26 May 1940: Norwegian transport ''Vansø'' (54 BRT) hits a mine laid on 10 May and sinks at *28 May 1940: Norwegian sail ship ''Blaamannen'' (174 BRT), from

Haugesund Haugesund () is a municipality on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. While the population is greater in the neighboring Karmøy municipality, the main commercial and economic centre of the Haugaland region in northern Rogaland and southern ...

, hits a mine laid on 27 May and sinks at *31 May 1940: Norwegian merchant ship ''Jadarland'' (938 BRT), from

, hits a mine laid on 27 May and sinks at *10 June 1940: Norwegian merchant ship ''Sverre Sigurdssøn'' (1,081 BRT) hits a mine laid on 9 June off

Herdla Herdla is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1871 until its dissolution in 1964. The municipality encompassed a large group of about 2,000 islands and skerries covering about of land area ...

and sinks at *7 July 1940: Norwegian merchant ship ''Almora'' (2,433 BRT), from

Egersund Egersund is a town in Eigersund municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The town is located along the southwestern coast of Norway, about south of the city of Stavanger. The town is situated along a strait which separates the mainland from t ...

, hits a mine laid on 10 May at . The ship survives. *24 July 1940: Norwegian merchant ship ''Kem'' (1,705 BRT), from Egersund, hits a mine laid on 10 May and sinks at . *28 July 1940: Norwegian merchant ship ''Argo'' (413 BRT), from Egersund, hits a mine laid on 10 May and sinks at .

1941

*21 August 1941: ''Rubis'' torpedoes and sinks the Finnish merchant ship ''Hogland'' (4,360 BRT) off Norway at .

1942

*12 June 1942: German auxiliary minesweeper ''M 4212'' (formerly ''Marie Frans''), 125 BRT, hits a mine laid on 5 June and sinks at . *26 June 1942: Vichy French tugboat ''Quand Même'' (288 BRT) hits a mine laid on 5 June and sinks at . *10 July 1942: German auxiliary minesweeper ''M 4401'' (formerly ''Imbrin''), 339 BRT, hits a mine and sinks at . *18 August 1942: German

Vorpostenboot ''Vorpostenboot'' (plural ''Vorpostenboote''), also referred to as VP-Boats, flakships or outpost boats, were German patrol boats which served during both World Wars. They were used around coastal areas and in coastal operations, and were tasked w ...

''V 406'' (formerly ''Hans Loh''), 464 BRT, hits a mine laid on 14 August and sinks at . *20 September 1942: German auxiliary minesweeper ''M 4448'' (formerly: ''L 4148''), 77 BRT, hits a mine laid on 5 June and sinks at .

1943

*10 July 1943: German auxiliary minesweeper ''M 4451'' (formerly ''Gauleiter A. Meyer''), 652 BRT, hits a mine off Arcachon and sinks at .

1944

*26 September 1944: German auxiliary submarine hunter ''UJ 1106'' (formerly ''Grönland''), 464 BRT, hits a mine laid on 24 September and sinks at . *27 September 1944: ** German auxiliary submarine hunter ''UJ 1715'' (formerly ''Lesum''), 464 BRT, hits a mine laid on 24 September and sinks at ** German merchant ship (5,295 BRT) hits a mine laid on 24 September and sinks at ** Norwegian cargo ship ''Knute Nelson'' (5,749 BRT) hits a mine laid on 24 September and sinks at *27 October 1944: German

''V 5304'' (formerly ''Seehund'') hits a mine laid on 18 October at . The ship survives with heavy damage. *24 November 1944: Norwegian merchant ship ''Castor'' (1,683 BRT), from Egersund, hits a mine laid on the same day and sustain damage. *21 December 1944, off Norway: ** German cargo ship (formerly

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

n ''Gundega''), 3,654 BRT, hits a mine laid on 19 December and sinks ** German auxiliary submarine hunter ''UJ 1113 / KUJ 7'', 970 BRT, hits a mine laid on 19 December and sinks ** German auxiliary submarine hunter ''UJ 1116 / KUJ 11'', 970 BRT, hits a mine laid on 19 December and sinks ** German auxiliary submarine hunter ''UJ 1702 / KUJ 16'', 970 BRT, hits a mine laid on 19 December and sinks ** German minesweeper ''R 402'', 140 t, hits a mine laid on 19 December and sinks

References

Bibliography

External links

FS Rubis
uboat.net

*

*
Panorama of the wreck of ''Rubis''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rubis (1931) Saphir-class submarines (1928) Ships built in France 1931 ships World War II submarines of France Submarines of the Free French Naval Forces Minelayers of the French Navy Companions of the Liberation