- Plongeur
"Plongeur" (French for "Diver") was a French
submarine launched on 16 April 1863. She was the first submarine in the world to be propelled by mechanical (rather than human) power.Captain Siméon Bourgeois , who made the plans, andnaval constructor Charles Brun began working on the design in 1859 at Rochefort.pecifications
The submarine was propelled by stored
compressed air powering areciprocating engine . The air was contained in 23 tanks holding air at 12.5 bar (1.25 MPa, 180 psi), taking up a huge amount of space (153 m³), and requiring the submarine to be of unprecedented size. The engine had a power of 80 hp (60 kW), and could propel the submarine for 5nautical mile s (9 km), at a speed of 4 knots (7.2 km/h).Compressed air was also used to empty its
ballast tanks , which had a volume of 53 m³. Ballast was 212 t, including a security ballast of 34 t.The submarine was armed with a ram to break holes in the hull of enemy ships, and an electrically fired
spar torpedo , fixed at the end of a pole.The submarine was 43 m (140 feet) long and 420
long ton s (426 t) in displacement.A support ship, the "Cachalot", followed her in order to resupply the compressed air necessary to her propulsion.
A small
lifeboat (8 x 1.7 m) was provided for the escape of the 12 men complement.Operational history
The submarine was commanded by Lieutenant de Vaisseau
Marie-Joseph-Camille Doré , a native ofLa Rochelle .On 6 October 1863, "Plongeur" made her first trials by sailing down the
Charente river , towards the harbour of the Cabane Carrée.On 2 November 1864, "Plongeur" was towed towards Port de Barques where her first underwater trials were planned. Because of poor weather conditions, the submarine was eventually towed to La Pallice and then to the harbour of
La Rochelle (Bassin à flot).On 14 February 1864, during trials in the Bassin à flot, the engine raced due to an excessive admission of compressed air, and the submarine bumped into the quay. Trials were stopped.
On 18 February 1864 "Plongeur" was towed to La Pallice and dived to 9 meters.
Stability problems due to its length limited the submarine to dives to a maximum depth of 10 metres. The front of the submarine would tend to dive first, hitting the bottom, so that the submarine would glide forward. Pumps were installed to compensate for the tilt, but proved too slow to be effective. The installation of longitudinal rudders would have improved stability as later demonstrated by the Gymnote and Gustave-Zédé submarine.
After various experiments, the
French Navy struck the ship on 2 February 1872.Conversion
The submarine was reactivated as an automotive water tanker, equipped with a compound 2 cylinder steam engine of 120 hp (90 kW), on 1 January 1873. She was assigned to the harbour of Rochefort. She was equipped with a new engine in 1898, transferred from a torpedo boat (Torpilleur No 74).
In 1927, upon the closure of the arsenal at Rochefort, she was transferred to the
Mediterranean atToulon , where she was used to supply the 1st and 3rd squadrons with water.She was decommissioned on 25 December 1935, and sold for 25,143 francs to a M. Negai on 26 May 1937.
ee also
*
Resurgam External links
* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/sub-history4.htm Submarine history]
* [http://francois.delboca.free.fr/fsplonge.html Le sous-marin Le Plongeur (French)]
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