French submarineAchéron

For other ships with the same name, seeFrench ship Achéron.

Achéron

Achéron'ssister shipAjaxin 1930.
History
France
Name	Achéron
Namesake	TheAcheron,a river inGreece,inGreek mythologyleading to the entrance to theunderworld
Operator	French Navy
Builder	Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire,Saint-Nazaire,France
Laid down	4 or 24 September 1927
Launched	6 August 1929
Commissioned	22 February 1932
Homeport	Brest,France
Fate	Scuttled27 November 1942 Seized byItaly
Italy
Acquired	On or after 27 November 1942
Fate	Refloated 26 June 1943 Seized by Germany September 1943 Sunk 24 November 1943
General characteristics
Class and type	Redoutable-class submarine
Displacement	1,572 tonnes (1,547 long tons) (surfaced) 2,092 tonnes (2,059 long tons) (submerged)
Length	92.3 m (302 ft 10 in)
Beam	8.1 m (26 ft 7 in)
Draft	4.4 m (14 ft 5 in) (surfaced)
Propulsion	2 ×diesel engines,6,000 hp (4,474 kW) 2 ×electric motors,2,250 hp (1,678 kW)
Speed	17.5 kn (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph) (surfaced) 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) (submerged)
Range	14,000 nmi (26,000 km; 16,000 mi) at 7 kn (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) (surfaced) 10,000 nmi (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) (surfaced) 4,000 nmi (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) at 17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph) (surfaced) 90 nmi (170 km; 100 mi) at 7 kn (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) (submerged)
Test depth	80 m (262 ft)
Complement	5officers(6 in operations) 66men
Armament	11torpedo tubes 1 × 100 mm (3.9 in) gun 1 × 13.2 mm (0.5 in)machine gun

Achéronwas aFrench NavyRedoutable-classsubmarineof the M6 seriescommissionedin 1932. She participated inWorld War II,first on the side of theAlliesfrom 1939 to June 1940, then in the navy ofVichy France.She wasscuttledin November 1942.

Characteristics

Profile ofCasabianca,sister shipofAchéron.

Achéronwas part of a fairly homogeneous series of 31 deep-sea patrolsubmarinesalso called "1,500-tonners" because of theirdisplacement.All entered service between 1931 and 1939.

TheRedoutable-class submarines were 92.3 metres (302 ft 10 in) long and 8.1 metres (26 ft 7 in) inbeamand had adraftof 4.4 metres (14 ft 5 in). They could dive to a depth of 80 metres (262 ft). They displaced 1,572 tonnes (1,547 long tons) on the surface and 2,082 tonnes (2,049 long tons) underwater. Propelled on the surface by twodiesel enginesproducing a combined 6,000 horsepower (4,474 kW), they had a maximum speed of 18.6 knots (34.4 km/h; 21.4 mph). When submerged, their twoelectric motorsproduced a combined 2,250 horsepower (1,678 kW) and allowed them to reach 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). Also called "deep-cruising submarines", their range on the surface was 10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). Underwater, they could travel 100 nautical miles (190 km; 120 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph).

Construction and commissioning

Laid downatAteliers et Chantiers de la LoireinSaint-Nazaire,France,on 4or 24 September 1927 with thehull numberQ150,Achéronwaslaunchedon 6 August 1929.She wascommissionedon 22 February 1932.

Service history

In 1937,Achéronreceived orders to make a cruise toArgentinain company with hersister shipsAgosta,Bévéziers,andFresnel.

World War II

French Navy

At the start ofWorld War IIin September 1939,Achéronwas assigned to the 3rd SubmarineDivisionin the 2ndSquadron— a component of the 1stFlotilla— based atToulon,France.Her sister shipsActéon,Fresnel,andProtéemade up the rest of the division.In December 1939,AchéronjoinedFresneland their sister shipsLe HérosandRedoutablein searching the centralAtlantic Oceanfor theGermansupply shipAltmark.AgostaandBéveziers,which were returning to France from theFrench West Indies,also joined in the search.

At the beginning of February 1940, the 3rd Submarine Division transferred briefly toCasablancainFrench Moroccoand on 6 February 1940 began patrols off theCanary Islands,where theAlliesbelieved that German cargo shipshad taken refuge at the beginning of the war and were serving as supply ships for GermanU-boats.During these patrols,Achéronopened fire with herdeck gunon a 5,265-gross register tonsteamcargo ship that her crew suspected of being a Germanblockade runner,forcing the ship to stop in theAtlantic Oceanat34°25′N018°08′W.Crewmen fromAchéronboarded the ship and determined that she was the Britishmerchant shipSSSomme,after whichAchéronallowed her to proceed.

On 12 April 1940, the 3rd Submarine Division was transferred to theMediterranean Sea,based first atBizerteinTunisia.WhileFresnelremained at Bizerte, the division′s other submarines then transferred toBeirutin the FrenchMandate for Syria and Lebanon,from which they operated under the command of the British Commander-in-Chief,Mediterranean Fleet,AdmiralAndrew CunninghamatAlexandria,Egypt.Achéronpatrolled in theEastern Mediterraneanin the approaches to Beirut.

German ground forces advanced into France on 10 May 1940, beginning theBattle of France,andItalydeclared war on France on 10 June 1940 andjoined the invasion.On the day Italy entered the war, British submarines based at Beirut departed for operations in theAegean Seaoff theDardanellesand in theTobrukarea off the coast ofLibya,and on 11 June the French submarinesL'Espadon,Phoque,andProtéealso departed to operate in theDodecanese,leaving onlyAchéronto defend the approaches to Beirut.On 16 June 1940, an Italiantorpedo boatfired atorpedoatAchéron,but missed.

The Battle of France ended in France's defeat andarmisticeswith Germanyon 22 June 1940 andwith Italyon 24 June, both of which went into effect on 25 June 1940.Achéron— by then assigned to the 3rd Submarine Division in the 3rd Squadron in the 1st Flotilla— was recalled to Beirut.

Vichy France

After France's surrender,Achéronserved in the naval forces ofVichy France.Herbatteriesand those of her sister shipActéon— which also was at Beirut — were in poor condition, but repairing or replacing them was impossible at Beirut.Escorted by thenetlayerLe Gladiateur,the two submarines departed Beirut on 16 October 1940 bound for Toulon, which they reached on 24 October 1940.At Toulon,Achéronwas placed under guard and maintained in a disarmed and unfueled state in accordance with the terms of theArmistice of 22 June 1940.By 1 November 1942, still in this status at Toulon,Achéronhad been assigned to the 1st Submarine Group along with her sister shipsL'Espoir,Le Glorieux,andVengeur.

Loss

Achéronwas at Toulon when Germany and ItalyoccupiedtheFree Zone(French:Zone libre) of Vichy France on 27 November 1942, and she was among the French vesselsscuttled at Toulonto prevent their seizure by Germany when German forces entered the naval base that day,sinking in Dock No. 3 of the Vauban Grand Docks.

The Germans seizedAchéronand handed her over to the Italians for scrapping.Her wreck lay in a position where hersternhindered the closing of Dock No. 3, sodiverscut her stern.The Italians refloated her on 26 June 1943,but she was still at Toulon when Italysurrenderedto the Allies on 9 September 1943. The Germans seized her and earmarked her for scrapping, but 88 Americanbombersdropped 240 short tons (210 long tons; 220 tonnes) ofbombson theToulon Arsenaland sank her on 24 November 1943 before she could be scrapped.

References

Bibliography

• Fontenoy, Paul E. (2007).Submarines: An Illustrated History of Their Impact (Weapons and Warfare).Santa Barbara, California.ISBN978-1-85367-623-9.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger (1980).Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946.London: Conway Maritime Press.ISBN0-85177-146-7.
• Huan, Claude (2004).Les Sous-marins français 1918–1945(in French). Rennes: Marines Éditions.ISBN9782915379075.
• Picard, Claude (2006).Les Sous-marins de 1 500 tonnes(in French). Rennes: Marines Éditions.ISBN2-915379-55-6.