 Submarines moored at Lamoune Wharf atOran,Algeria, on 31 May 1934.Galatée (conning tower marking "GL") is in the foreground.Caïman is in the background. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Galatée |
| Namesake | Galatea |
| Ordered | 30 June 1922 |
| Builder | Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire,Saint-Nazaire, France |
| Laid down | 1 February 1924 |
| Launched | 18 December 1925 |
| Commissioned | 6 May 1927 |
| Fate | |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Submarine |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 64 m (210 ft 0 in) |
| Beam | 5.2 m (17 ft 1 in) |
| Draught | 4.3 m (14 ft 1 in) |
| Speed |
|
| Range | 3,500 nmi (6,500 km) at 7.5 kn (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph) |
| Complement | 41 |
| Armament |
|
Galatée (Q132) was aFrench NavySirène-classsubmarinecommissioned in 1927. She participated inWorld War II, first on the side of theAllies from 1939 to June 1940, then in the navy ofVichy France. She wasscuttled in November 1942.
TheSirène-class submarines had adisplacement of 609 long tons (619 t) surfaced and 757 long tons (769 t) submerged.t They had an endurance of 3,500nautical miles (6,500 km; 4,000 mi) at 7.5knots (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph), with a maximum surface speed of 13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph), and a submerged speed of 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph). Their armament was seventorpedo tubes (three forward, two amidships, and two aft) and carried 13torpedoes. As with all French submarines of this period, the midships torpedo tubes were fitted externally in trainable mounts. The submarines had a single75 mm (3 in) and two 8 mm machine guns, and were manned by crews of 41 men.
Ordered on 30 June 1922 andLaid down atAteliers et Chantiers de la Loire inSaint-Nazaire, France, on 1 February 1924 with thepennant number Q132,Galatée waslaunched on 18 December 1925.[1] She wascommissioned on 6 May 1927.[1]
On 29 December 1927, acompressed aircylinder exploded aboardGalatée while she was moored at theToulon arsenal inToulon, France, with no one aboard. The explosion knocked down severalbulkheads and demolished thecupboards in thecommanding officer'scabin. Investigators assessed that there could have been a substantial loss of life if her crew had been aboard.[2]
World War II began with the Germaninvasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, and when France entered the war on 3 September,Galatée was a unit of the 19th SubmarineDivision at Toulon, France, with the submarinesNaïade,Sirène, andArgonaute.[1] With the outbreak of war, the division was placed under the command of themaritime prefect of the 3rd Region.[1][3] French naval forces at Toulon primarily were concerned with opposing Italian forces in the event thatItaly entered the war onGermany's side.
TheBattle of France began when German ground forces advanced into France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg on 10 May 1940. The threat of Italian entry into the war increased thereafter, and in response the French on 26 May began stationing two Toulon-based submarines —Galatée among them — on a rotating basis atÎles d'Hyères, from which they could reach defensive patrol areas offNice andSaint-Tropez within two hours.[1] On 1 June 1940, as tensions with Italy continued to increase, the French began stationing two submarines on the coast ofCorsica, withSirène taking station that day on alert atCalvi andGalatée atAjaccio.[1] On 5 June,Galatée relievedSirène at Calvi and went on one-hour alert to get underway there, whileSirène moved to Ajaccio for a rest period.[1]
Italy declared war on France on 10 June 1940 andjoined the invasion of France that day. From 10 to 19 June,Galatée andSirène took turns maintaining a defensive patrol in theTyrrhenian Sea offBastia andAlistro on the east coast of Corsica.[1] The submarinesCéres andPallas relieved them of this duty on 19 June 1940.[1]
The Battle of France ended in France's defeat andarmistice with Germany and Italy, which went into effect on 25 June 1940.
After the armistice went into effect,Galatée served in the naval forces ofVichy France. On 3 July 1940, a BritishRoyal Navysquadronattacked a French Navy squadron moored at the naval base atMers El Kébir nearOran on the coast ofAlgeria, and, with tensions with the United Kingdom running high,Sirène,Galatée, and the submarinesDiamant,La Sultane, andPerleanchored on alert at Vignettes on 9 July 1940 in case the British attempted an attack on Toulon.[1]
The 19th Submarine Division was dissolved on 1 September 1940.[4] Its submarines were integrated into the 5thSquadron of the 1stSubmarine Force.[3]
From 16 June to 30 July 1941,Galatée underwent a major refit in afloating drydock at the Arsenal of Sidi-Abdallah atBizerte,Tunisia. After post-overhaul trials from 10 to 12 August 1941, she proceeded to Toulon, which she reached on 27 August 1941. She then conducted a patrol from 1 to 12 September 1941.[3] She was decommissioned on 25 September 1942 and moored atBrégaillon in Toulon.[3] Under guard in an unarmed and unfueled state in accordance with the terms of the 1940 armistice and unable get underway when Germany and Italyoccupied theFree Zone (French:Zone libre) of Vichy France on 27 November 1942,Galatée was among the French vesselsscuttled at Toulon to prevent their seizure by Germany when German forces entered Toulon that day.[1]
The Germans seizedGalatée and handed her over to the Italians, who refloated her on either 2 December 1942[1] or 25 June 1943,[3] according to different sources. She was placed in reserve at the Toulon arsenal.[3]
After Italysurrendered to theAllies on 8 September 1943, the Germans took control ofGalatée.[1] On 9 September 1943, a German mission visited the 14 French submarines at Toulon and deemed 12 of them unusable but decided thatGalatée and the submarineAurore merited repair and could be operational again in seven to eight months.[1] In January 1944,Galatée was moved to the westquay at Missiéssy Dock, and she was moored at Brégaillon on 3 February 1944.[3] On 16 May 1944, the Germans decided to handGalatée over to French authorities to provide a reserve of equipment, and the handover took place on 4 July 1944.[1] On 5 July 1944, an Allied air raid sankGalatée at Toulon.[3]Galatée was refloated in 1945 andhulked for use as afloat.[3] She was scuttled on 17 March 1949.
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1927 | |
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Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in July 1944 | |
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| Other incidents |
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Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1949 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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