 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Sidi Ferruch |
| Namesake | Sidi Ferruch, the French colonial name forSidi Fredj, a town inAlgeria |
| Operator | French Navy |
| Builder | Arsenal de Cherbourg,Cherbourg, France |
| Laid down | 30 January 1932 |
| Launched | 9 July 1937 |
| Commissioned | 1 January 1939 |
| Fate | Sunk 11 November 1942 |
| 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 |
|
Sidi Ferruch (French:Sidi-Ferruch) was aFrench NavyRedoutable-classsubmarine of the M6 seriescommissioned in 1939. She participated inWorld War II, first on the side of theAllies from 1939 to June 1940, then in the navy ofVichy France. She was sunk in November 1942.
Sidi Ferruch 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 atArsenal de Cherbourg inCherbourg, France, on 30 January 1932[2] with thehull number Q181,Sidi Ferruch waslaunched on 9 July 1937.[2] She wascommissioned on 1 January 1939.[2]
At the start ofWorld War II on 1 September 1939,Sidi Ferruch was assigned to the 8th SubmarineDivision based atBrest, France.[3] Hersister shipsAgosta,Bévéziers, andOuessant made up the rest of the division.[3][4] Beginning on 3 September 1939, the day France declared war,Sidi Ferruch patrolled off the northern coast ofSpain, whereGermanmerchant ships — which theAllies suspected of serving as supply ships for GermanU-boats — had taken refuge upon the outbreak of war.[5]
At the beginning of October 1939,Sidi Ferruch and the rest of the 8th Submarine Division received orders to leaveEuropean waters and proceed toFort-de-France onMartinique in theFrench West Indies to conduct patrols in the vicinity ofTrinidad the British had requested.[3][6] In February 1940,Sidi Ferruch andBévéziers were assigned to escort duty for Britishconvoys steaming fromNorth America to theUnited Kingdom.[3]Sidi Ferruch escorted two convoys, includingConvoy HX 27, fromHalifax,Nova Scotia,Canada, toLiverpool,England. She returned to Brest on 27 March 1940.[3]
After a minor refit,Sidi Ferruch deployed toCasablanca inFrench Morocco. 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.Sidi Ferruch was at Casablanca as part of the 8th Submarine Division withBévéziers when 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.[3]
After France's surrender,Sidi Ferruch served in the naval forces ofVichy France. After theattack on Mers-el-Kébir — in which a BritishRoyal Navy squadron attacked a French Navy squadron moored at the naval base atMers El Kébir inOran on the coast ofAlgeria — took place on 3 July 1940,Sidi Ferruch andBévéziers were detached to operate in the waters ofFrench West Africa.[3] They departed Casablanca on the evening of 4 July 1940 bound forDakar inSenegal, which they reached on 9 July 1940, the day after an air raid on the port there byFleet Air Arm aircraft from the Royal Navyaircraft carrierHMS Hermes, conducted as part ofOperation Catapult.[3] On 15 July 1940,Sidi Ferruch set out on her first patrol from Dakar.[3]
In August 1940,Sidi Ferruch andBévéziers were assigned to the 2nd Submarine Division to form the division′s second section.[3]Sidi Ferruch patrolled off Dakar from 2 to 6 August 1940, then on 6 August departed Dakar to replaceBévéziers atDouala inFrench Cameroon.[3] She called at Douala from 13 to 25 August 1940, then proceeded toGabon — at the time a territory ofFrench Equatorial Africa — where she called atLibreville from 26 to 27 August and atPort-Gentil from 28 to 29 August 1940.[3] She returned to Libreville on 30 August 1940 and played an active role in restoring Vichy French authority there.[3] She departed Libreville on 15 September 1940 bound forTabou,Ivory Coast, which she visited from 20 to 21 September 1940.[3] She then got underway to return to Dakar.[3]
On 23 September 1940, British forces attacked Dakar, beginning theBattle of Dakar.[3]Sidi Ferruch at the time was escorting acargo ship offConakry,French Guinea, two days from Dakar.[3] She received orders to proceed to Dakar and attack the British force.[3] By about 10:00 on 25 September 1940, she was operating along the British withdrawal route from Dakar.[3] During the day she sighted thefunnels of twoocean liners and attempted to close with them, but at 17:55 aircraft from the aircraft carrierHMS Ark Royal sighted and bombed her, forcing her to dive and allowing the ships to escape.[3][7] She then patrolled on the surface about 50 nautical miles (93 km; 58 mi) from Dakar until returning to Dakar on 26 September 1940.[3]
On both 23[3] and 28[8] October 1940,Sidi Ferruch was recorded as belonging to the 2nd Submarine Division based as Casablanca, along withBéveziers,Casabianca, andSfax.
Sidi Ferruch and her sister shipArchimède got underway from Dakar on 19 February 1941 to relieveCasabianca and the submarineAurore at Conakry, which they reached on 21 February.[3] From 23 to 25 February 1941 they patrolled in theGulf of Guinea off French Guinea.[3] They departed French Equatorial Africa on 10 March to return to Dakar, where they arrived on 12 March 1941.[3][9]
Sidi Ferruch andArchimède left Dakar on 9 May 1941 to head for Casablanca.[3]Sidi Ferruch subsequently made a stop atAgadir, French Morocco, from 9 to 16 July 1941 before proceeding toToulon, France.[3] She was disarmed and defueled at Toulon in September 1941[3] in accordance with the terms of the 1940 armistice.
Sidi Ferruch was rearmed in April 1942, and she and the submarineAntiope arrived in July 1942 at Dakar, whereSidi Ferruch relievedAurore so thatAurore could proceed to Toulon for a major overhaul.[3] At 23:00 on 17 July 1942,Sidi Ferruch got underway from Dakar in company with theauxiliary cruiserQuercy for what was planned as a one-month cruise to rendezvous with and escort thetankerNivôse, which had departedSaigon inFrench Indochina with a cargo of 12,000 tonnes (11,810 long tons; 13,228 short tons) offuel oil for the 4th Squadron and was proceeding to Dakar by a route which took her around the south coast ofAustralia andCape Horn on the southern tip ofSouth America.[3]Sidi Ferruch andQuercy rendezvoused withNivôse in theAtlantic Ocean at12°52′S24°00′W / 12.867°S 24.000°W /-12.867; -24.000 on 29 July 1942 and escorted her the rest of the way to Dakar, where they arrived without incident on 5 August 1942.[3] During the voyage,Sidi Ferruch had covered 4,559 nautical miles (8,443 km; 5,246 mi) in 19 days at sea.[3]
Sidi Ferruch was assigned to the 4th Submarine Division on 22 August 1942.[3] She still was listed on 1 November 1942 as part of the 4th Submarine Division, based at Dakar.[3]
On 8 November 1942, the 4th Submarine Division consisted ofSidi Ferruch and her sister shipsLe Conquérant andLe Tonnant, all of which were at Casablanca that morning, withSidi Ferruch andLe Tonnant preparing to carry out orders to conduct a reconnaissance offSafi, French Morocco.[3]Allied forces landed inFrench North Africa inOperation Torch that day and theNaval Battle of Casablanca betweenUnited States Navy and Vichy French forces began that morning. Taken by surprise in the harbor at Casablanca,Sidi Ferruch,Le Conquérant, andLe Tonnantsortied under attack by U.S. Navy aircraft.[3]Sidi Ferruch got underway at 07:30 intending to wait for orders outside the harbor and came under attack byTBF Avengertorpedo bombers armed withbombs.[3] Damaged by the aircraft, she suffered one killed and four wounded, including hercommanding officer, who suffered serious wounds.[3][10]
Sidi Ferruch′sexecutive officer took command.[3] Noting the strength of U.S. forces off the harbor, he decided to hug the coast and head for Safi in accordance withSidi Ferruch′s previous orders.[3] Two of her wounded died during the day.[3] She surfaced at 19:30 and headed forMadeira Island in theMadeira Archipelago to disembark her two surviving wounded.[3] Her three dead wereburied at sea at midnight on 8–9 November 1942.[3]
Sidi Ferruch had numerous holes in hersuperstructure inflicted bymachine-gunbullets as she left the harbor at Casablanca, so on the morning of 9 November 1942 she stopped halfway to Madeira to make repairs at sea.[3] After receiving a message directing her to carry out the previously ordered reconnaissance off Safi, she abandoned her plans to disembark her wounded at Madeira Island and instead made for Safi in the early afternoon.[3] At 21:30, when she was about 100 nautical miles (190 km; 120 mi) off the coast of French Morocco, she sighted the Spanish cargo shipMonte Orduna, which was on a voyage to theCanary Islands, and tried to contact her, but a plane arrived on the scene and forced her to dive.[3] After resurfacing, she sent a boarding party toMonte Orduna, whosecaptain agreed to take aboardSidi Ferruch′s wounded.[3] After transferring her wounded toMonte Orduna,Sidi Ferruch resumed her transit to Safi, and at daybreak on 10 November 1942 began a submerged patrol off Safi.[3]
On 10 November 1942,Sidi Ferruch received a recall order and apparently began a return voyage to Casablanca.[3] She was not seen or heard from for the remainder of the day.[3]
On the morning of 11 November 1942, the day the Allies and Vichy French forces inNorth Africa signed aceasefire,Sidi Ferruch surfaced near El Hank, French Morocco, about 20 nautical miles (37 km; 23 mi) west of Casablanca, and headed toward the port.[3] A flight of four TBF-1 Avengers of U.S. NavyEscort Scouting Squadron 27 (VGS-27) from theescort aircraft carrierUSS Suwannee (ACV-27) sighted her at 07:10bearing 260 degrees and 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi) from Casablanca.[11] They misidentified her as a GermanType VII submarine,[11] and three of them dived out of cloud cover and attacked her from astern as she began acrash dive.[11] The three Avengers dropped a total of twelve 325-pound (147 kg)depth charges,[11] four of which landed aroundSidi Ferruch'sconning tower as she submerged[11] and six to eight of which landed within what the aircraft crews considered "lethal range."[11] As the depth charges exploded, the aircraft crews noted what they described as an "iron bar" flying into the air.[11] AfterSidi Ferruch disappeared beneath the surface, the Avenger crews observed a largeoil slick on the surface and saw air bubbles rise to the surface from a fixed location for the next 30 minutes.[11] It marked the end ofSidi Ferruch, sunk with the loss of all hands[3] offFedhala Roads, French Morocco, at33°35′N007°50′W / 33.583°N 7.833°W /33.583; -7.833 (Sidi Ferruch).[2]
In 1948, the U.S. Navy proposed thatSidi Ferruch had been sunk offCisneros inRío de Oro on 13 November 1942[3][12] by twoPBY Catalinaflying boats of U.S. NavyPatrol Squadron 92 (VP-92), but that submarine eventually was identified asLe Conquérant.[13][14][15]
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