 Poncelet′ssister shipAjax in 1930. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Poncelet |
| Namesake | Jean-Victor Poncelet (1788–1867),Frenchengineer andmathematician |
| Operator | French Navy |
| Builder | Arsenal de Lorient,Lorient, France |
| Laid down | 3 March 1927 |
| Launched | 10 April 1929 |
| Commissioned | 1 September 1932 |
| Homeport | Brest,France |
| Fate | Scuttled 7 November 1940 |
| 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 |
|
Poncelet 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 served in the navy ofVichy France. She wasscuttled during theBattle of Gabon in November 1940. Hercommanding officer at the time of her loss,Capitaine de corvette (Corvette Captain) Bertrand de Saussine du Pont de Gault, is regarded as a national naval hero inFrance for sacrificing his life to scuttle her and ensure that she did not fall into enemy hands.
Poncelet was part of a fairly homogeneous series of 31 deep-sea patrolsubmarines also called "1,500-tonners" because of theirdisplacement.[2] 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).
Poncelet was authorized under the 1925 naval program.[3] She waslaid down atArsenal de Lorient inLorient,France, on 20 August 1925[3] with thehull number Q141. Work was halted on 3 March 1927,[3] but later resumed, and she waslaunched on 10 April 1929[3] at the same time as hersister shipHenri Poincaré.Poncelet completedfitting out forsea trials on 15 October 1930,[3] passed her official acceptance trials on 20 February 1931,[3] and completed her final fitting-out on 5 February 1932.[3] She was declared complete on 10 February 1932[3] and wascommissioned on 1 September 1932.[3]
On 28 October 1937, one of the sailors inPoncelet′sengineering department suffered an injury.[3]
At the start ofWorld War II in September 1939,Poncelet was assigned to the 6th SubmarineDivision in the 4th Submarine Squadron in the 1st Squadron, based inBrest, France.[3][4] Her sister shipsAjax,Archimède, andPersée made up the rest of the division.[3][4]
On 20 September 1939,Poncelet andPersée departed Brest to patrol in theAtlantic Ocean to the north and south of theAzores, where sevenGermanmerchant ships — which theAllies suspected of serving as supply ships for GermanU-boats — had taken refuge at the start of the war.[3][5] On 23[6] or 28[3] September 1939 (according to different sources),Poncelet became the only French submarine whose crew boarded an enemy merchant ship during World War II when she captured the Germancargo shipChemnitz.Chemnitz — making a voyage fromDurban,South Africa, toHamburg, Germany, with a cargo of 2,500 tonnes (2,460 long tons; 2,760 short tons) oflead ore, 2,000 tonnes (1,970 long tons; 2,200 short tons) oflead, 1,000 tonnes (980 long tons; 1,100 short tons) ofwheat, 850 tonnes (840 long tons; 940 short tons) offlour, and 500 tonnes (490 long tons; 550 short tons) ofbarley — had slipped out ofLas Palmas onGran Canaria in theCanary Islands in an attempt to reach Germany, butPoncelet captured her 70 nautical miles (130 km; 81 mi) south ofFaial Island in the Azores and took her as aprize, sending her toCasablanca inFrench Morocco under the control of aprize crew.[3][6]Poncelet then proceeded toCherbourg, France, along withPersée for a refit.[3][7]
German ground forces advanced into France on 10 May 1940, beginning theBattle of France.Poncelet departed Cherbourg, then called at Brest.Italy declared war on France on 10 June 1940 andjoined the invasion. As the Germans approached Brest,Poncelet evacuated the base, getting underway at 18:30 on 18 June 1940 with thesubmarine tenderJules Verne and 13 other submarines,[3] including her sister shipsAjax,Casabianca,Persée, andSfax. They arrived at Casablanca on 23 June 1940.[3][8] 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.
After France's surrender,Poncelet served in the naval forces ofVichy France. After the BritishRoyal Navyattacked the French Navysquadron atMers El Kébir, French Morocco, on 3 July 1940,Poncelet was assigned along withCasabianca andSfax to defensive patrols off French Morocco, the three submarines combining to maintain a continuous offshore presence from 6 to 18 July 1940, when the submarinesAmphitrite,Calypso, andMéduse relieved them.[3][9]
On 8 August 1940, the French Navy put a reorganization into effect which placedPoncelet andPersée in the 6th Submarine Division and transferred them toDakar inSenegal.[3] On 2 September 1940,Poncelet got underway from Dakar with theavisoBougainville and thebanana boatCap des Palmes, which was loaded with troops and supplies.Poncelet escortedCap de Palmes as she approachedMayumba on the coast ofGabon — then a territory ofFrench Equatorial Africa — to land the troops, but the landing was cancelled when the French discovered British forces at Mayumba.[3]Poncelet then proceeded toPort-Gentil in Gabon.[3][10] As of 26 October 1940, she remained at Port-Gentil.[3]
On 7 November 1940,Free French forces beganamphibious landings to capture Gabon from Vichy France,[11] resulting in theBattle of Gabon. At the time,Poncelet, which was at Port-Gentil, andBougainville, which was atLibreville, were the only Vichy French vessels available for the defense of Gabon.[12] British forces provided cover for the landings, and at 06:30Alpha Time on 7 November the Royal Navyheavy cruiserHMS Devonshire[11] —flagship of the Britishtask force commander,AdmiralJohn Cunningham[13] — launched aSupermarine Walrusbiplaneflying boat to search forPoncelet.[11] It returned at 07:45 Alpha Time and reported thatPoncelet was anchored off Port-Gentil, 8 nautical miles (15 km; 9.2 mi) andbearing 138 degrees fromCape Lopez.[11]
Poncelet had put about a quarter[3] or a third[11] (according to different sources) of her crew ashore to reinforce the Vichy French garrison at Port-Gentil,[11] but she received orders to attack thetransports carrying the Free French invasion force[12] off Libreville[3] with the crew she had on board, and she set out toward theBaie des Baleiniers.[3] She sighted themasts of the Royal Navysloop-of-warHMS Milford,[3] which was onantisubmarine patrol to the north and northeast of Cape Lopez, and at 15:52 Alpha Time,Milford reported thatPoncelet had gotten underway.[11] At 16:15,Milford reportedPonceletzigzagging on the surface on a course of 60 degrees, whileMilford herself was making 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) on a course of 60 degrees.[11] At 16:19,Milford reported her own position as00°20′S008°50′E / 0.333°S 8.833°E /-0.333; 8.833 and thatPoncelet was 7 nautical miles (13 km; 8.1 mi) distant, bearing 30 degrees and still on a course of 60 degrees.[11]
Milford was too slow to interceptPoncelet as long asPoncelet remained on the surface and undamaged, so Cunningham orderedDevonshire to launch a Walrus to attackPoncelet in the hope of either damaging her or forcing her to dive, which in either case would slow her and giveMilford a chance to overtake her.[11][13]Devonshire launched the Walrus at 16:50 Alpha Time.[11] At 17:00 Alpha Time,Milford reported herself at00°11′S008°57′E / 0.183°S 8.950°E /-0.183; 8.950 and thatPoncelet was 6.5 nautical miles (12.0 km; 7.5 mi) distant, making 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) and steering a course of 39 degrees.[11] The Walrus straddledPoncelet with two 100-pound (45 kg)depth charges, damaging her and forcing her to submerge.[11][13]
At 17:20 Alpha Time,Milford reported thatPoncelet had altered course to the west and submerged and that she was engagingPoncelet.[11]Poncelet fired atorpedo atMilford which passed underMilford without exploding.[11][14]Poncelet attempted to fire a second torpedo, but it got stuck in itstube, gave off toxic smoke into the interior of the submarine, and created a leak.[11][14]Milford depth-chargedPoncelet, damaging her and forcing her to the surface, then opened gunfire on her.[3] She submerged again, but was too badly damaged to withstand the dive, and her crew faced the danger of asphyxiation from the smoke emitted by the torpedo stuck in its tube, soPoncelet′scommanding officer,Capitaine de corvette (Corvette Captain) Bertrand de Saussine du Pont de Gault, ordered the submarine to surface and her crew to abandon ship.[3][14] Soon after engagingPoncelet,Milford reported thatPoncelet had surfaced at00°04′S008°56′E / 0.067°S 8.933°E /-0.067; 8.933.[11]
The Britishlight cruiserHMS Delhi received orders at 18:01 Alpha Time to close withPoncelet and put aprize crew aboard her.[11] At 18:05,Milford signaled thatPoncelet′s engines had broken down and that she had surrendered.[11] Once certain that his crew was safe, de Saussine went back aboardPoncelet and opened herseacocks,scuttling her at00°20′S008°50′E / 0.333°S 8.833°E /-0.333; 8.833 (Poncelet) to prevent her from falling into enemy hands.[11][14] He decided to remain aboard as she sank and went down with his ship, the only member ofPoncelet′s crew lost in her sinking.[3][12][14][15][16] At 18:20,Milford reported thatPoncelet had been scuttled and that she was picking up survivors.[11] AlthoughDelhi received orders to assist in the rescue,Milford brought aboard all 54 survivors — threeofficers and 51enlisted men.[11]
Delhi reported at 19:22 Alpha Time on 7 November 1940 that she was in company withMilford and the British auxiliarynaval trawlerHMS Turcoman at00°01′N009°03′E / 0.017°N 9.050°E /0.017; 9.050 and that theprisoners-of-war fromPoncelet would spend the night of 7–8 November aboardMilford.[11]Devonshire rendezvoused withMilford at 05:45 Alpha Time on 8 November 1940 to receive a full report onMilford′s engagement withPoncelet.[11]Milford transferredPoncelet′s survivors toDelhi at 07:45 Alpha Time on 9 November 1940 while a Walrus fromDevonshire flew over the scene to provide antisubmarine cover.[11] At 14:00 Alpha Time on 9 November,Delhi detached from the task force to refuel atLagos,Nigeria, which she reached at around 11:30 Alpha Time on 10 November 1940.[11] She disembarked the prisoners-of-war fromPoncelet at Lagos.[11]
In France, de Saussine is regarded as a national naval hero.[17] His classmate and close friend, French Navy officer andFrench Resistance heroHonoré d'Estienne d'Orves, who fought in theFree French Naval Forces, was deeply affected by the death of de Saussine.[18][19]Chemnitz — the merchant shipPoncelet captured in September 1939 — was renamedSaint-Bertrand in honor of de Saussine after his death.[20]
The British eventually releasedPoncelet′s survivors, and they arrived at Dakar on 15 March 1943.[3] As of July 2022, thewreck ofPoncelet remains undiscovered.
The end ofPoncelet is recounted by the writerJean Noli in his 1971 bookLe choix: les marins français au combat ("The Choice: French Sailors in Combat").
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)[verification needed]Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in November 1940 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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