François Drogou

François Drogou
Born	(1904-12-30)December 30, 1904 Bohars, France
Died	December 15, 1940(1940-12-15) (aged 35) Gulf of Gabès, off Tunisia
Allegiance	France
Service/branch	French Navy
Years of service	1925–1940
Rank	Capitaine de frégate (Frigate Captain)
Commands	Orion Narval
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of the Mediterranean
Awards	Knight of the Legion of Honor Croix de guerre 1939-1945

François Drogou (born 30 December 1904 in Bohars, Finistère Department, France - died 15 December 1940 in the Gulf of Gabès, Tunisia) was a French Navy officer who became a Companion of Liberation posthumously by decree of 31 January 1941. An experienced naval officer, he specialized in submarine warfare shortly before World War II. After the armistice of 22 June 1940, he decided to join Free France and subsequently operated in the Mediterranean Sea, where he disappeared with the entire crew of his submarine.

Biography

Early life and pre-World War II career

François Drogou was born on 30 December 1904, in Bohars in Finistère, France. In 1923, he entered the École navale (the French naval academy), from which he graduated in 1925 and was commissioned in the French Navy with the rank of enseigne de vaisseau de 2e classe (ensign 2nd class). He first embarked on the armored cruiser Jeanne d'Arc until 1926 and was then assigned to the battleship Paris. Promoted to enseigne de vaisseau de 1re classe (ensign 1st class) in 1927, he was assigned to the destroyer Enseigne Gabolde until 1928, then to the battleship Condorcet. He served aboard the light cruiser Primauguet from April 1929 to May 1931.

Drogou was promoted to lieutenant in 1932 then specialized in submarine warfare. He served successively aboard the submarines Argo, Oréade, and Monge. In August 1937, he took command of the submarine Orion, remaining her commanding officer until July 1939.

Second World War

France entered World War II on the side of the Allies on 3 September 1939. Assigned during the first months of the war to the 3rd Submarine Squadron, Drogou took command in February 1940 of the submarine Narval, which operated in the Mediterranean Sea. Narval was assigned to the monitoring of Italian shipping traffic to Libya.

German ground forces advanced into France during the Battle of France on 10 May 1940, and Italy declared war on France on 10 June 1940 and joined the invasion. The Battle of France ended in France's defeat and the armistice of 22 June 1940 with Germany and Italy, under which hostilities ended on 25 June 1940. Refusing to honor the armistice, Drogou and part of his crew decided to continue the fight and join the Free French, leaving 31 sailors who did not choose to join them ashore at Sousse, Tunisia. Narval then got underway from Sousse bound for Malta, where he and his remaining crew enlisted in the Free French Naval Forces.

Promoted to capitaine de corvette (corvette captain) in August 1940, Drogou retained command of Narval and carried out his first patrol for the Free French in company with the British Royal Navy submarine HMS Rorqual from 25 September to 8 October 1940, followed by a second patrol from 25 October to 3 November 1940 between Lampedusa and the Kerkennah Islands.

Narval was never heard from again after 2 December 1940, disappearing during her third patrol with the loss of Drogou and his entire crew. She may have struck a French mine in a defensive minefield off the Kerkennah Islands in the Gulf of Gabès off the coast of Tunisia on 15 December 1940. The leader of Free France, Charles de Gaulle, promoted Drogou posthumously to capitaine de frégate (frigate captain) on 1 January 1941.

The wreck of Narval was not located until 1957. It is considered a war grave, with the remains of Drogou and his crew still aboard.

Honors and awards

• Knight of the Legion of Honor
• Order of Liberation (Companion of Liberation)
• Croix de guerre 1939-1945
• Resistance Medal
• Knight of the Imperial Order of the Dragon of Annam 5th class

Commemoration

• The French Navy named the aviso Drogou in Drogou′s honor.
• Drogou′s name appears on the stele erected in memory of the crew of Narval on the esplanade of Château de Brest in Brest.
• François Drogou is inscribed on the commemorative monument to submariners erected in the park of the Tour Royale in Toulon, France.
• A commemorative plaque dedicated to Drogou is on a wall at the former Lorient Submarine Base in Lorient, France.
• Two streets bear Drogou′s name, in Bohars and Brest.

References

Bibliography

• François Broche (2000). L'épopée de la France libre 1940-1946 (in French). Pygmalion. ISBN 2-857-04633-2.
• François Marcot (2006). Dictionnaire historique de la résistance (in French). Robert Laffont. ISBN 2-221-09997-4.
• Jean-Christophe Notin (2000). 1061 compagnons: Histoire des Compagnons de la Libération (in French). Éditions Perrin. ISBN 2-262-01606-2.
• Étienne Taillemite (2002). Dictionnaire des marins français (in French). Tallandier. ISBN 2-847-34008-4.
• Vladimir Trouplin (2010). Dictionnaire des Compagnons de la Libération (in French). Elytis. ISBN 2-356-39033-2.