| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Thétis |
| Namesake | Thetis, a seanymph inGreek mythology |
| Builder | Chantiers Schneider et Cie,Bordeaux, France |
| Laid down | 1 February 1924 |
| Launched | 30 June 1927 |
| Commissioned | June 1929 |
| Fate |
|
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Circé-classcoastal submarine |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 62.48 m (204.99 ft)[1] |
| Beam | 6.2 m (20.34 ft)[1] |
| Draught | 3.99 m (13.09 ft)[1] |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range | 3,500 miles |
| Capacity | 60t (oil) |
| Complement | 41 |
| Armament |
|
Thétis (Q134) was aCircé-classsubmarine in commission in theFrench Navy from 1929 until 1942. She saw service inWorld War II, first on the side of theAllies from September 1939 to June 1940, then in the forces ofVichy France until she wasscuttled in November 1942.
Laid down byChantiers Schneider et Cie atBordeaux,France, on 1 February 1924[2][3] with thepennant number Q134,Thétis waslaunched on 30 June 1927.[2][3] While she wasfitting out atToulon, France, acompressed air tank exploded aboard her on the afternoon of 7 March 1929, seriously injuring a crewman, who was hospitalized with one arm torn off andbruises over his entire body.[4] She wascommissioned in June 1929.[2][3]
In 1937,Thétis sank the decommissionedarmored cruiserJules Michelet as a target.[5]
WhenWorld War II began withNazi Germany′sinvasion of Poland on 1 September 1939,Thétis was part of the 13th SubmarineDivision of the 5th SubmarineSquadron in the 1stFlotilla of the 2nd Squadron along with hersister shipsCalypso,Circé, andDoris at Toulon.[3] France entered the war on 3 September 1939.
In 1940, theAllies made plans to intervene inNorway to prevent the shipment ofiron ore fromSweden to Germany viaNarvik on the Norwegian coast. Twelve French submarines were to participate in the operation, including the four submarines of the 13th Division, under the overall command ofRoyal NavyVice AdmiralMax Horton. Accordingly,Thétis andCalypso got underway fromBizerte,Tunisia, on 23 March 1940 and proceeded toHarwich,England, where the French Navysubmarine tenderJules Verne was to support them as they patrolled theHeligoland Bight and the southernNorth Sea in support of the Norway operation.[3]
The Allies′ plans for Norway took on greater urgency on 9 April 1940, when Germany beganOperationWeserübung, its invasion of Norway andDenmark.Circé arrived at Harwich on 14 April andDoris on 20 April to joinCalypso andThétis in supporting Allied operations in Norway. The French submarines found limited facilities available to them at Harwich and had to rely largely onJules Verne and spare parts sent fromCherbourg in France for repairs, some of which never were completed.[3]
By 6 May 1940, the Allies had indications that aGerman invasion of the Netherlands was imminent, and that day Horton ordered all available submarines to put to sea. Four French submarines, includingThétis, received orders to join four British and two Polish submarines in forming a patrol line off the coast of theNetherlands to find and attack German submarines believed to be operating in the area. TheBattle of France began when German ground forces advanced into France, the Netherlands,Belgium, andLuxembourg on 10 May 1940.[3]
On 4 June 1940,Jules Verne and all the French submarines assigned to her at Harwich departed Harwich and proceeded toBrest, France.[3][6]Italy declared war on France on 10 June 1940 andjoined the invasion of France that day. As German ground forces approached Brest on 18 June 1940, all French ships received orders at 18:00 to evacuate the port, with those unable to get underway ordered toscuttle themselves. At 18:30,Jules Verne and 13 submarines, includingThétis, got underway from Brest bound forCasablanca,French Morocco, which they reached on 23 June 1940.[3][6]
The Battle of France ended in France's defeat andarmistice with Germany and Italy, which went into effect on 25 June 1940. On that day,Thétis,Calypso, andCircé were still part of the 13th Submarine Division, based at Toulon but assigned to overseas duty at Casablanca.[3]
After the armistice went into effect,Thétis served in the naval forces ofVichy France. By 1 November 1942, she was at Toulon, under guard in an unarmed and unfueled status in accordance with the terms of the 1940 armistice.[3]
On 8 November 1942, Allied forces landed inFrench North Africa inOperation Torch. On 9 November, the Armistice Commission authorized the reactivation of Vichy French vessels at Toulon, includingThétis, to defend Toulon against any Allied attack there.Thétis was not yet 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]
The Germans seizedThétis and handed her over to the Italians, who refloated her on 1 March 1943, with the Mario Serra Company ofGenoa carrying out thesalvage operation.[2][3] She was not repaired.[2] The Germans seized her again whenItaly surrendered to the Allies in September 1943. They handed her over to Vichy French authorities on 4 July 1944.[3]
Thétis sank on 6 August 1944, either because of neglect or due to damage inflicted bybombs during an Allied air raid.[3] She was refloated in September 1945 and subsequently scrapped.[3]
 French Navy | |
|---|---|
 Regia Marina |
|
| |
