.jpg) Eurydice′ssister shipAriane in 1930. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Eurydice |
| Namesake | Eurydice, the wife ofOrpheus inGreek mythology |
| Operator | French Navy |
| Ordered | 1923 |
| Builder | Chantiers et Ateliers Augustin Normand,Le Havre, France |
| Laid down | 3 July 1923 |
| Launched | 31 May 1927 |
| Commissioned | 1 September 1929 |
| Fate |
|
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Ariane-class submarine |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 64 or 65.98 m (210 ft 0 in or 216 ft 6 in) (sources disagree) |
| Beam | 4.92 or 6.2 m (16 ft 2 in or 20 ft 4 in) (sources disagree) |
| Draft | 3.82 or 4.1 m (12 ft 6 in or 13 ft 5 in) (sources disagree) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range |
|
| Test depth | 80 m (262 ft) |
| Complement | 3 officers, 38 men |
| Armament |
|
Eurydice (Q130) was aFrench NavyAriane-classsubmarinecommissioned in 1929. DuringWorld War II, she operated on theAllied side until 1940, when she became part of the naval forces ofVichy France. She wasscuttled in November 1942.
Ordered under the 1923 naval programme,[1]Eurydice waslaid down along with hersister shipDanaé[2] atChantiers et Ateliers Augustin Normand inLe Havre,France, on 3 July 1923 with thehull number Q123.[1] She waslaunched on 31 May 1927.[1] Afterfitting out, she began her builder′strials on 1 July 1927.[1] On 7 October 1927, she departed Le Havre bound forCherbourg, France, but returned to Le Havre the same day for unknown reasons.[1] She soon got back underway for Cherbourg, arriving there on 8 October 1927.[1]
Eurydice′s official acceptance trials began with her arrival at Cherbourg.[1] She docked atCherbourg Naval Base on 8 December 1928 to carry out tests,[1] and she departed Cherbourg on 3, 4, 9, and 16 April 1929 for exercises.[1] On 2 May 1929, she put to sea from Cherbourg for diving exercises.[1] After completing her equipping and arming work at Cherbourg on 27 June 1929,[1] she called atBrest, France, from 9 to 15 July 1929 before returning to Cherbourg.[1] She wascommissioned along with her sister shipAriane[3] on 1 September 1929.[1]
Eurydice arrived atCasablanca inFrench Morocco on 19 June 1930.[1] In July 1932, she participated in the investigation of the loss of the submarineProméthée,[1][4] which had sunk suddenly in theEnglish Channel during her sea trials on 7 July 1932 with the loss of 62 lives.[5]Eurydice subsequently arrived atÎle-de-Bréhat on 18 September 1932[1] and at Brest on 25 September 1932.[1]
Eurydice arrived at Cherbourg on 10 May 1933[1] and at Brest on 24 May 1934.[1] She got underway from Cherbourg on 6 June 1934 for exercises,[1] returning to Cherbourg on 13 June 1934.[1] After arriving at Le Havre on 22 November 1934,[1] she returned to Cherbourg, which she reached on 24 November 1934.[1] On 28 November 1934, she got underway from Cherbourg to conduct exercises with the submarinesOréade andOrphée.[1]
On 12 March 1935,Eurydice arrived atDieppe from Le Havre.[1] She got back underway on 15 March 1935 bound forBoulogne.[1] She arrived at Le Havre on 15 April 1935.[1]
Eurydice arrived atPaimpol from Cherbourg on 14 August 1936.[1] On 16 October 1936, she departed Le Havre bound forDunkirk.[1] On 30 October 1936, she arrived at Paimpol after a voyage fromCarantec.[1]
When World War II began on 1 September 1939 with the Germaninvasion of Poland,Eurydice was part of the 14th SubmarineDivision — a part of the 2nd SubmarineSquadron in the 6th Squadron — along with her sister shipsAriane andDanaé and the submarineDiane, based atOran inAlgeria.[1] France entered the war on the side of theAllies on 3 September 1939. 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. The Battle of France ended in France's defeat and anarmistice with Germany and Italy on 22 June 1940. When the armistice went into effect on 25 June 1940,Eurydice still was based at Oran.[1]
After France′s surrender,Eurydice served in the naval forces ofVichy France. On 3 July 1940, the British beganOperation Catapult, which sought to seize or neutralize the ships of the French Navy to prevent their use by the Germans, andEurydice was in port at the French naval base atMers El Kébir at Oran that day when a British naval squadron arrived off the base and demanded that the French Navy either turn over the ships based there to British custody or disable them. The French put their submarines at Oran on alert,[1] and at 13:30Eurydice andDiane were ready for sea.[1] Theyanchored in the outer harbor at 15:30 withAriane andDanaé,[1] and at 17:54 the four submarines received orders to put to sea.[1]
When the British warships opened fire on the French ships in the harbor at 17:57,[1] beginning theirattack on Mers-el-Kébir,Eurydice was 4.5 nautical miles (8.3 km; 5.2 mi) southwest ofDanaé.[1] None of the four submarines was able to close with the British ships during the battle.[6] Shortly before 20:00,[1] a British aircraft sightedEurydice andDanaé and dropped illuminatedfloats to guide a Britishdestroyer to them.[6] The destroyerdepth-charged the two submarines, but they escaped damage.[1] During the night of 3–4 July 1940, the four submarines patrolled on the surface off Oran in a north-south patrol line.[6] All four submarines remained on patrol off Oran until 20:00 on 4 July 1940 before returning to Oran.[1]
As Operation Catapult continued, British forces attacked the French squadron atDakar inSenegal on 8 July 1940.[1] Receiving word of the attack, French naval authorities at Oran orderedEurydice,Ariane, andDiane to form a patrol line offCape Falcon, Algeria.[1]
Eurydice was in afloating drydock at Mers El Kébir for a major refit from 1 to 15 October 1940.[1] On 25 November 1940, she was armed for post-refit trials,[1] which she conducted from 26 to 28 November 1940.[1] She then began training exercises.[1] On 14 May 1941, she was placed under guard atToulon, France, in an unarmed and unfueled status in accordance with the terms of the 22 June 1940 armistice.[1]
Eurydice still was in this status 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 Toulon that day, sinking in the Northwest Basin at the Missiessy Docks.[1] She was refloated on 25 June 1943.[1] The Germans declared her unusable on 26 January 1944 and moved her toBrégaillon,[1] where Alliedbombers sank her on 22 June 1944.[1] Refloated again in 1945,[1] herhulk subsequently served as afloat until she was scrapped.[1]
