 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Pascal |
| Namesake | Blaise Pascal (1623–1662),Frenchmathematician,physicist,inventor,philosopher, writer, andtheologian |
| Operator | French Navy |
| Ordered | 1925 |
| Builder | Arsenal de Brest,Brest, France |
| Laid down | 8 June 1926 |
| Launched | 19 July 1928 |
| Commissioned | 10 September 1931 |
| Homeport | Brest,France |
| Fate | |
 Italy | |
| Acquired | On or after 27 November 1942 |
| Fate |
|
 Nazi Germany | |
| Acquired | 9 September 1943 |
| Fate | Sunk 11 March 1944 |
| 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 |
|
Pascal was aFrench NavyRedoutable-classsubmarine of the M6 seriescommissioned in 1931. She participated inWorld War II, first on the side of theAllies from 1939 to June 1940, then in the navy ofVichy France until she wasscuttled atToulon in November 1942. She was never again seaworthy, but theItalians seized her and refloated her, and theGermans later took control of her. She was sunk in March 1944.
Pascal 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).
Authorized in the 1925 naval program,[2]Pascal waslaid down atArsenal de Brest inBrest,France, on 8 June 1926[3] with thehull number Q138. She waslaunched on 19 July 1928[3] andcommissioned on 10 September 1931.[3]
From 1930, the French Navy equipped several of its submarines — includingPascal — withhydrophones mounted in front of the forwarddiving planes and connected to acompesator.[2] This system allowed sound operators aboard the submarines to determine thebearing of underwater sound sources out to ranges of 8,000 metres (8,750 yd) to an accuracy of within 2 degrees.[2]
At the start ofWorld War II in September 1939,Pascal was assigned to the 4th SubmarineDivision in the 1stSquadron,home-ported at Brest.[4][2] Her sister shipsArgo,Henri Poincaré, andLe Centaure made up the rest of the division.[2][4]
The French assigned the responsibility for the defense of the coast ofFrench Morocco to the 4th Submarine Division, andPascal and the division's other submarines began patrols 60 to 70 nautical miles (110 to 130 km; 69 to 81 mi) off French Morocco on 3 September 1939,[2][5] the day France entered World War II on the side of theAllies. The patrols were cancelled on 5 September, when German forces were reported back in their bases.[2]
In November[2] and December[6] 1939,Pascal andHenri Poincaré patrolled in theAtlantic Ocean south of theAzores in search ofGermanU-boats and their supply ships.[2][6] On either 17 November[2] or 17 December[6] 1939, according to different sources,Pascal's crew boarded the Italianocean linerSaturnia to check her passengers — among whom were eight Germans, seven of themGerman Jews — before allowing her to proceed.[2][6] From 21 to 25 November 1939, the two submarines searched for the Germancargo shipRekum, based on an erroneous report that she had put to sea fromSanta Cruz de Tenerife onTenerife in theCanary Islands.[2]
At 07:00 on 16 January 1940,Pascal fired a warning shot at amerchant ship her crew suspected of being ablockade runner.[2] After the ship stopped,Pascal′s crew determined that she was the Britishsteamcargo shipSS Highland Princess and released her to continue her voyage.[2]
In April 1940 the French Navy established the new 4thFlotilla atBizerte inTunisia and assignedPascal,Argo,Henri Poincaré, andLe Centaure to it along with their sister shipsFresnel,Le Conquérant,Le Glorieux,L'Espoir,Le Héros,Le Tonnant,Monge,Pégase, andVengeur.[2] Accordingly,Pascal began to operate from Bizerte.[2]
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 13 June,Pascal andLe Centaure got underway for a patrol south ofSardinia between38 degrees 10 minutes North and 38 degrees 30 minutes North.[2][7] That day,Pascalcrash-dived and avoided damage when an Italian plane attacked her, dropping threebombs.[2]Pascal andLe Centaure sighted no ships during their patrol.[2][7] 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. When the armistices went into effect,Pascal was on patrol in theMediterranean Sea south of theStrait of Messina.
After France's surrender,Pascal served in the naval forces ofVichy France, initially remained assigned to the 4th Submarine Division[2] at Bizerte.[2] By 1 August 1940, she had been reassigned along withHenri Poincaré to the 5th Submarine Division at Bizerte.[2][8]
As of 1 January 1942,Pascal was assigned to the 5th Submarine Division atCasablanca in French Morocco along withFresnel,Henri Poincaré, and their sister shipActéon.[2] In early 1942, she departed French Morocco to undergo a major overhaul atLa Ciotat, France.[2] The overhaul took eight months,[2] during which time she was placed under guard in a disarmed and unfueled state in accordance with the terms of theArmistice of 22 June 1940.[2] After Allied forceslanded inFrench North Africa on 8 November 1942 inOperation Torch, she was authorized to rearm for the defense ofToulon, France, against Allied attack.[2] Her refit was completed on 16 November 1942.[2]
Moored at Berth 9 at the Darse Nord du Mourillon at Toulon with herdiesel engines still disassembled,[2]Pascal was not able get underway 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.[2][3][9] She sank before German troops could reach her and attempt to prevent her scuttling.[2][10]
The Germans seizedPascal and handed her over to the Italians, who refloated her on either 20 January 1943[2] or 5 June 1943,[3] according to different sources. The Germans seized her when Italy surrendered to the Allies and switched to the Allied side in accordance with the terms of theArmistice of Cassibile on 9 September 1943. The Germans declared her unusable. Allied aircraft sank her at Toulon on 11 March 1944.[2][3]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)[verification needed]Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in March 1944 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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