French submarine Saphir (1928) explained

The French submarine Saphir was the lead ship of the s built for the French Navy in the mid-1930s. Laid down in May 1926, it was launched in December 1928 and commissioned in September 1930. Saphir was disarmed at Bizerte, Tunisia and renamed FR 112 after being captured there by Italian forces on 8 December 1942. Saphir was seized and scuttled by German forces at Naples, Italy on 15 September 1943.^{[1] [2]}

Design

66m (217feet) long, with a beam of 7.1m (23.3feet) and a draught of 4.3m (14.1feet), Saphir-class submarines could dive up to 80m (260feet). The submarine had a surfaced displacement of 7610NaN0 and a submerged displacement of 9250NaN0. Propulsion while surfaced was provided by two 1300hp Normand-Vickers diesel motors and while submerged two 1100hp electric motors. The submarines electrical propulsion allowed it to attain speeds of while submerged. Their surfaced range was 7000nmi at 7.5kn, and 4000nmi at 12kn, with a submerged range of 80nmi at 4kn.^[1]

The Saphir-class submarines were constructed to be able to launch torpedoes and lay mines without surfacing. The moored contact mines they used contained 220 kg of TNT and operated at up to 200m (700feet) of depth. They were attached to the submarine's exterior under a hydrodynamic protection and were jettisoned with compressed air. The Saphir-class submarines also featured an automatic depth regulator that automatically flooded ballast tanks after mines were dropped to prevent the risk of the submarine surfacing in the middle of enemy waters.^{[3] [4]}

See also

• List of submarines of France
• French submarines of World War II

References

• Book: Fontenoy, Paul E. . Submarines: An Illustrated History of Their Impact (Weapons and Warfare) . Santa Barbara . ABC-CLIO Publishing. 2007 . 978-1-85109-563-6.
• Moulin . Jean . Les sous-marins mouilleurs de mine type Saphir . Navires & Histoire . October–November 2022 . 133 . 88–95 . 1280-4290. fr. The Saphir-Class Minelaying-Submarines.

Notes and References

1. Web site: FR Saphir of the French Navy – French submarine of the Saphir class – Allied Warships of WWII. uboat.net. 22 October 2018.
2. Web site: Q 145 . sous-marin.france.pagesperso-orange.fr . 12 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131104143848/http://sous-marin.france.pagesperso-orange.fr/Q145.htm . 4 November 2013 . dead.
3. Web site: Saphir class Submarines – Allied Warships of WWII . uboat.net . 24 August 2018.
4. Web site: Sous Mama – Diamand – Nautilus – Perle – Rubis – Saphir – Turquoise – Les Sous-Marins de la série des "Pierres Précieuses". www.sous-mama.org. 25 October 2018. 13 July 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230713154714/http://www.sous-mama.org/diamand-nautilus-perle-rubis-saphir-turquoise-les-sous-marins-de-la-serie-des-pierres-precieuses--blog-242.html. dead.