French submarine Prairial

A postcard of sister ship Monge underway before 1915
History
France
Name	Prairial
Namesake	The third month of Spring in the French Republican Calendar
Builder	Arsenal de Cherbourg
Laid down	1906
Launched	26 September 1907
Completed	19 June 1909
Identification	Pennant number: Q55
Fate	Sunk in a collision, 29 April 1918
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type	Template:Sclass-
Displacement	404 t (398 long tons) (surfaced) 553 t (544 long tons) (submerged)
Length	51.12 m (167 ft 9 in) (o/a)
Beam	4.96 m (16 ft 3 in)
Draft	3.15 m (10 ft 4 in)
Installed power	700 PS (510 kW; 690 bhp) (steam) 2 × Du Temple boilers 400 PS (290 kW; 390 bhp) (electric motors)
Propulsion	2 × shafts; 2 × Triple-expansion steam engines 2 × electric motors
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)
Complement	2 officers and 23 crewmen
Armament	1 × 450 mm (17.7 in) bow torpedo tube 1 × twin 450 mm Drzewiecki drop collar 4 × external 450 mm torpedo launchers (2 × facing forward, 2 × aft)

Prairial was one of 18 Template:Sclass-s built for the French Navy in the first decade of the 20th century.

During World War I, Priarial collided with the British steamer Tropic in the English Channel off Le Havre, France, and sank with the loss of nineteen of her 26 crew.

See also

• List of submarines of France

Bibliography

• Couhat, Jean Labayle (1974). French Warships of World War I. London: Ian Allen. 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. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |lastauthoramp= ignored (|name-list-style= suggested) (help)
• 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.