The ''Saphir''-class submarines were a class of six submarines built in France between 1926 and 1935 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 ...

. Most saw action during

World War II 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 ...

for the

Vichy 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 ...

or the Free French Naval Forces. Three were captured by Italian forces but not used.

Design

Scale model of Saphir-MnM 31 MG 7-IMG 6245

''Saphir''-class submarines had a surfaced displacement of and a submerged displacement of . Their dimensions were 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 draught of . Propulsion while surfaced was provided by two Normand-Vickers diesel motors with a total of and while submerged by two electric motors providing a total of through two shafts enabling a maximum speed of while surfaced and while submerged. Their bunkers of of oil fuel gave them a surfaced range of at , and at and their batteries a submerged range of at . They carried a complement of 42 men. ''Saphir''-class submarines could dive up to . The ''Saphir''-class submarines were constructed to be able to launch torpedoes and lay mines without surfacing. The moored contact mines they used contained 220 kg of TNT and operated at up to 200 meters of depth. They were attached to the submarine's exterior under a hydrodynamic protection and were jettisoned with compressed air.

Ships

Service

During the war, five ''Saphir''-class ships operated in the Mediterranean Sea and only ''Rubis'' operated with the Home Fleet. Later, she joined the ranks of the Free French Naval Forces. During its service on the side of the Allies, ''Rubis'' was a very effective ship. From April 1940 to the end of 1944, it carried out 22 mine laying operations in the waters off Norway. 15 ships sank on its mines, including minesweepers, 4 small warships, and submarines. In addition, it sank one ship with torpedoes. Only one ship in the Mediterranean Sea changed sides to join the Allies, ''Perle'', which on 8 July 1944 was mistakenly sunk in the Atlantic by an Allied plane. Of the remaining submarines, ''Diamant'' was scuttled at Toulon on 27 November 1942; ''Nautilus'', ''Saphir'' and ''Turquoise'' were demobilized in

Bizerte Bizerte or Bizerta ( ar, بنزرت, translit=Binzart , it, Biserta, french: link=no, Bizérte) the classical Hippo, is a city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia. It is the northernmost city in Africa, located 65 km (40mil) north of the cap ...

between 1941 and 1942. After the occupation of Tunis by Axis troops, they were taken over by Italians in December 1942. ''Saphir'' was renamed "FR 112", and ''Turquoise'', "FR 116". These ships were unusable and disarmed remained in Bizerte until the end of activities in Africa. Shortly before surrendering, the Italians sank them. Only ''Rubis'' survived the war and was withdrawn from service on 4 October 1949.

References

Bibliography

* {{WWII French ships Submarine classes Ship classes of the French Navy Minelayers of the French Navy

Design

Ships

Service

See also

References

Bibliography