Circé class submarine

Class overview
Name:	Circé-class
Operators:	French Navy
Built:	1925–1927
In commission:	1927–1940
Completed:	4
Lost:	4
General characteristics
Type:	Submarine
Displacement:	615 tonnes (605 long tons) surfaced 776 tonnes (764 long tons) submerged
Length:	64 m (210 ft)
Propulsion:	2 × diesel engines, 1,200 bhp (895 kW) 2 × electric motors, 1,000 shp (746 kW) 2 shafts
Speed:	14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) surfaced 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph) submerged
Range:	3,500 mi (5,600 km) at 7.5 kn (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph)
Complement:	41
Armament:	7 × 550 mm (22 in) torpedo tubes 1 × 76 mm (3 in) deck gun 2 × 8 mm (0.31 in) machine guns

The Circé class submarines were a sub-class of the 600 Series built for the French Navy prior to World War II. There were four vessels in the class, built to a Schneider-Laubeuf design. They were ordered in 1925 and completed by 1927.^[1][2]

The four boats of the Circé class saw action during the Second World War, from September 1939 until the French armistice in June 1940.

General characteristics

The Circé class had a displacement of 615 tons surfaced and 776 tons submerged. They had an endurance of 3,500 miles at 7.5 knots, with a maximum surface speed of 14 knots, and a submerged speed of 7.5 knots. Their armament was seven torpedo tubes (3 forward, 2 midships, and 2 aft) with an outfit of 13 torpedoes. As with all French submarines of this period, the midships torpedo tubes were fitted externally in trainable mounts. They had a single 3 inch/76mm and two 8mm machine guns, and were manned by crews of 41 men.

Ships

• Bizerta in June 1940. She was seized in 1942 and became the Italian FR117. She was scuttled in 1943.
• Toulon in June 1940. She was scuttled there in November 1942.
• Doris was sunk in the North Sea in May 1940 by the German submarine U-9.

Notes

1. ^ Bagnasco p.44
2. ^ Conway p.273

References

• Bagnasco, E :Submarines of World War Two (1977) ISBN 0-85368-331-X
• Conway : Conways All the Worlds Fighting Ships 1922-1946 (1980) ISBN 0 85177