Summary
The French submarine Turquoise was a Saphir-class submarine built for the French Navy in the mid-1930s. Laid down in October 1926, it was launched in May 1929 and commissioned in September 1930. Turquoise was disarmed at Bizerte, Tunisia and renamed FR 116 after being captured there by Italian forces on 8 December 1942. Turquoise was recaptured and scuttled by German forces at Naples, Italy on 8 May 1943.[1][2]
 sister ship Diamant, date unknown
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Turquoise |
| Namesake | Turquoise |
| Operator | French Navy |
| Builder | Arsenal de Toulon |
| Laid down | 20 October 1926 |
| Launched | 16 May 1929 |
| Commissioned | 10 September 1930 |
| Fate | Seized by Axis forces 8 December 1942 |
 Italy | |
| Name | FR 116 |
| Acquired | 8 December 1942 |
| Fate | Captured and scuttled by German forces on 8 May 1943 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Saphir-class submarine |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 66 m (216 ft 6 in) |
| Beam | 7.1 m (23 ft 4 in) |
| Draught | 4.3 m (14 ft 1 in) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range |
|
| Test depth | 80 m (260 ft) |
| Complement | 42 men |
| Armament |
|
Design edit
66 m (216 ft 6 in) long, with a beam of 7.1 m (23 ft 4 in) and a draught of 4.3 m (14 ft 1 in), Saphir-class submarines could dive up to 80 m (260 ft). The submarine had a surfaced displacement of 761 long tons (773 t) and a submerged displacement of 925 long tons (940 t). Propulsion while surfaced was provided by two 1,300 hp (969 kW) Normand-Vickers diesel motors and while submerged two 1,100 hp (820 kW) electric motors. The submarines electrical propulsion allowed it to attain speeds of 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) while submerged. Their surfaced range was 7,000 nautical miles (13,000 km) at 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h), and 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h), with a submerged range of 80 nautical miles (150 km) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h).[1]
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 (660 ft) of depth. They were attached to the submarine's exterior under a hydrodynamic protection and were jettisoned with compressed air. The Saphir-class submarines also featured an automatic depth regulator that automatically flooded ballast tanks after mines were dropped to prevent the risk of the submarine surfacing in the middle of enemy waters.[3][4]
See also edit
Citations edit
- ^ a b "FR Turquoise of the French Navy – French submarine of the Requin class – Allied Warships of WWII". uboat.net. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
- ^ "Q 146". sous-marin.france.pagesperso-orange.fr. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ "Saphir class Submarines – Allied Warships of WWII". uboat.net. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
- ^ "Sous Mama – Diamand – Nautilus – Perle – Rubis – Saphir – Turquoise – Les Sous-Marins de la série des "Pierres Précieuses"". www.sous-mama.org.
References edit
- Fontenoy, Paul E. (2007). Submarines: An Illustrated History of Their Impact (Weapons and Warfare). Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85109-563-6.
- Moulin, Jean (October–November 2022). "Les sous-marins mouilleurs de mine type Saphir" [The Saphir-Class Minelaying-Submarines]. Navires & Histoire (in French) (133): 88–95. ISSN 1280-4290.