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French submarine Monge (1908)

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For other ships with the same name, see French ship Monge.
This article is about the submarine launched in 1908. For the submarine launched in 1929, see French submarine Monge (Q144).
French submarine Monge
History
France
NameMonge
NamesakeGaspard Monge
Ordered24 August 1905
BuilderArsenal de Toulon
Laid down1906
Launched31 December 1908
Commissioned2 August 1910
FateSunk in action, 28 December 1915
General characteristics (as built)
TypeSubmarine
Displacement
  • 404 t (398 long tons) (surfaced)
  • 553 t (544 long tons) (submerged)
Length51.12 m (167 ft 9 in) (o/a)
Beam4.96 m (16 ft 3 in)
Draft3.15 m (10 ft 4 in)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed
  • 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) (surfaced)
  • 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) (submerged)
Range
  • 1,000 nmi (1,900 km; 1,200 mi) at 8.5 knots (15.7 km/h; 9.8 mph) (surfaced)
  • 27 nmi (50 km; 31 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) (submerged)
Complement2 officers and 23 crewmen
Armament6 × external 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo launchers (4 × fixed, 2 × Drzewiecki drop collars)

French submarine Monge (Q67) was one of 18 Pluviôse-class submarines built for the French Navy (Marine Nationale) in the first decade in the 20th century.

Design and description

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The Pluviôse class were built as part of the French Navy's 1905 building program to a double-hull design by Maxime Laubeuf.[1] The submarines displaced 404 metric tons (398 long tons) surfaced and 553 metric tons (544 long tons) submerged. They had an overall length of 51.12 meters (167 ft 9 in), a beam of 4.96 meters (16 ft 3 in), and a draft of 3.15 meters (10 ft 4 in). Their crew numbered 2 officers and 23 enlisted men.[2]

For surface running, the boats were powered by two 350-metric-horsepower (345 bhp; 257 kW) triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam provided by two Du Temple boilers. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 230-metric-horsepower (227 bhp; 169 kW) electric motor.[3] On the surface they were designed to reach a maximum speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) and 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) underwater.[1] The submarines had a surface endurance of 865 nautical miles (1,602 km; 995 mi) at 11.6 knots (21.5 km/h; 13.3 mph) and a submerged endurance of 70 nmi (130 km; 81 mi) at 2.8 knots (5.2 km/h; 3.2 mph).[4]

The first six boats completed were armed with a single 450-millimeter (17.7 in) internal bow torpedo tube, but this was deleted from the rest of the submarines after an accident with their sister Fresnel in 1909. All of the boats were fitted with six 450 mm external torpedo launchers; the pair firing forward were fixed outwards at an angle of seven degrees and the rear pair had an angle of five degrees. Following a ministerial order on 22 February 1910, the aft tubes were reversed so they too fired forward, but at an angle of eight degrees. The other launchers were a rotating pair of Drzewiecki drop collars in a single mount positioned on top of the hull at the stern. They could traverse 150 degrees to each side of the boat. The Pluviôse-class submarines carried eight torpedoes.[5]

Construction and career

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Monge, named after the 18th-century mathematician and Minister of Marine Gaspard Monge, was ordered on 24 August 1905 from the Arsenal de Toulon.[6] The submarine was laid down in 1906,[7] launched on 31 December 1908 and commissioned on 2 August 1910.[8]

At the outbreak of the First World War Monge was part of the French Mediterranean Fleet and sailed with that force to the Adriatic tasked with bringing the Austro-Hungarian Fleet to battle or blockading it in its home ports.

On 29 December 1915, while on patrol off Cattaro under the command of Lieutenant Roland Morillot during the Battle of Durazzo, Monge sighted the cruiser Helgoland and an escorting destroyer. She closed to attack, but was spotted and rammed by Helgoland. She surfaced and was abandoned, her commander staying aboard to ensure she sank. For this action Morillot was honoured by having a submarine, the captured German UB-26, renamed after him.[9][10]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Gardiner & Gray, p. 209
  2. ^ Garier 1998, pp. 51, 54, 56, 65
  3. ^ Garier 1998, pp. 56–59
  4. ^ Garier 1998, p. 67
  5. ^ Garier 1998, pp. 59–60
  6. ^ Garier, p. 49
  7. ^ Couhat, p. 140
  8. ^ Garier 1998, p. 50
  9. ^ Castel
  10. ^ Sieche

Bibliography

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  • Couhat, Jean Labayle (1974). French Warships of World War I. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0445-5.
  • Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal (1985). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
  • Garier, Gérard (2002). A l'épreuve de la Grande Guerre. L'odyssée technique et humaine du sous-marin en France (in French). Vol. 3–2. Bourg-en-Bresse, France: Marines édition. ISBN 2-909675-81-5.
  • Garier, Gérard (1998). Des Émeraude (1905-1906) au Charles Brun (1908–1933). L'odyssée technique et humaine du sous-marin en France (in French). Vol. 2. Bourg-en-Bresse, France: Marines édition. ISBN 2-909675-34-3.
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