 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Achéron |
| Namesake | TheAcheron, a river inGreece, inGreek mythology leading 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 | |
 Italy | |
| Acquired | On or after 27 November 1942 |
| Fate |
|
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Redoutable-class submarine |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 92.3 m (302 ft 10 in) |
| Beam | 8.1 m (26 ft 7 in)[1] |
| Draft | 4.4 m (14 ft 5 in) (surfaced) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range |
|
| Test depth | 80 m (262 ft) |
| Complement | |
| Armament |
|
Achéron was aFrench NavyRedoutable-classsubmarine of the M6 seriescommissioned in 1932. She participated inWorld War II, first on the side of theAllies from 1939 to June 1940, then in the navy ofVichy France. She wasscuttled in November 1942.
Achéron was part of a fairly homogeneous series of 31 deep-sea patrolsubmarines also 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) inbeam and had adraft of 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 engines producing 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 motors produced 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).
Laid down atAteliers et Chantiers de la Loire inSaint-Nazaire, France, on 4[2] or 24 September 1927 with thehull number Q150,Achéron waslaunched on 6 August 1929.[2] She wascommissioned on 22 February 1932.[2]
In 1937,Achéron received orders to make a cruise toArgentina in company with hersister shipsAgosta,Bévéziers, andFresnel.[3]
At the start ofWorld War II in September 1939,Achéron was assigned to the 3rd SubmarineDivision in the 2ndSquadron — a component of the 1stFlotilla — based atToulon, France.[3] Her sister shipsActéon,Fresnel, andProtée made up the rest of the division.[3][4] In December 1939,Achéron joinedFresnel and their sister shipsLe Héros andRedoutable in searching the centralAtlantic Ocean for theGerman supply shipAltmark.[3][5]Agosta andBéveziers, which were returning to France from theFrench West Indies, also joined in the search.[3]
At the beginning of February 1940, the 3rd Submarine Division transferred briefly toCasablanca inFrench Morocco and on 6 February 1940 began patrols off theCanary Islands, where theAllies believed that German cargo ships[3] had taken refuge at the beginning of the war and were serving as supply ships for GermanU-boats. During these patrols,Achéron opened fire with herdeck gun on a 5,265-gross register tonsteam cargo ship that her crew suspected of being a Germanblockade runner, forcing the ship to stop in theAtlantic Ocean at34°25′N018°08′W / 34.417°N 18.133°W /34.417; -18.133.[3] Crewmen fromAchéron boarded the ship and determined that she was the Britishmerchant shipSS Somme,[3] after whichAchéron allowed her to proceed.
On 12 April 1940, the 3rd Submarine Division was transferred to theMediterranean Sea, based first atBizerte inTunisia. WhileFresnel remained at Bizerte, the division′s other submarines then transferred toBeirut in the FrenchMandate for Syria and Lebanon, from which they operated under the command of the British Commander-in-Chief,Mediterranean Fleet,AdmiralAndrew Cunningham atAlexandria,Egypt.[3][6]Achéron patrolled in theEastern Mediterranean in the approaches to Beirut.
German ground forces advanced into France on 10 May 1940, beginning theBattle of France, andItaly declared 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 Sea off theDardanelles and in theTobruk area off the coast ofLibya, and on 11 June the French submarinesL'Espadon,Phoque, andProtée also departed to operate in theDodecanese, leaving onlyAchéron to defend the approaches to Beirut.[3] On 16 June 1940, an Italiantorpedo boat fired atorpedo atAchéron, but missed.[3]
The Battle of France ended in France's defeat andarmisticeswith Germany on 22 June 1940 andwith Italy on 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[3] — was recalled to Beirut.[7]
After France's surrender,Achéron served in the naval forces ofVichy France. Herbatteries and those of her sister shipActéon — which also was at Beirut — were in poor condition, but repairing or replacing them was impossible at Beirut.[8] Escorted by thenetlayerLe Gladiateur, the two submarines departed Beirut on 16 October 1940 bound for Toulon, which they reached on 24 October 1940.[3][8] At Toulon,Achéron was placed under guard and maintained in a disarmed and unfueled state in accordance with the terms of theArmistice of 22 June 1940.[9] By 1 November 1942, still in this status at Toulon,Achéron had been assigned to the 1st Submarine Group along with her sister shipsL'Espoir,Le Glorieux, andVengeur.[3]
Achéron was at Toulon when Germany and Italyoccupied theFree Zone (French:Zone libre) of Vichy France on 27 November 1942, and she was among the French vesselsscuttled at Toulon to prevent their seizure by Germany when German forces entered the naval base that day,[2][10] sinking in Dock No. 3 of the Vauban Grand Docks.[3]
The Germans seizedAchéron and handed her over to the Italians for scrapping.[3] Her wreck lay in a position where herstern hindered the closing of Dock No. 3, sodivers cut her stern.[3][11] The Italians refloated her on 26 June 1943,[2][3] but she was still at Toulon when Italysurrendered to the Allies on 9 September 1943. The Germans seized her and earmarked her for scrapping, but 88 Americanbombers dropped 240 short tons (210 long tons; 220 tonnes) ofbombs on theToulon Arsenal and sank her on 24 November 1943 before she could be scrapped.[2][12]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)[verification needed]Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in November 1943 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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