French submarine Alose (1904)

The wreckage of Alose seen at the COMEX offices in 2019
History
France
Name	Alose
Namesake	Shad
Ordered	3 April 1901
Builder	Arsenal de Toulon
Laid down	17 November 1902
Launched	13 October 1904
Commissioned	31 July 1907
Stricken	21 May 1914
Fate	Sunk as target, 28 March 1918; raised 27 May 1976 and preserved as museum ship
General characteristics
Class and type	Naïade-class submarine
Displacement	70.5 t (69.4 long tons), (surfaced) 73.6 t (72.4 long tons) (submerged)
Length	24 m (78 ft 9 in)
Beam	2.26 m (7 ft 5 in)
Draft	2.54 m (8 ft 4 in)
Installed power	65 PS (64 bhp; 48 kW) (petrol engine) 70 PS (69 bhp; 51 kW) (electric motor)
Propulsion	1 × shaft; 1 × petrol engine 1 × electric motor
Speed	7.2 knots (13.3 km/h; 8.3 mph) (surfaced) 6 kn (11 km/h; 6.9 mph) (submerged)
Range	200 nmi (370 km; 230 mi) at 5.5 knots (10.2 km/h; 6.3 mph) (surfaced) 30 nmi (56 km; 35 mi) at 4.1 kn (7.6 km/h; 4.7 mph) (submerged)
Complement	9
Armament	2 × single 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedoes in Drzewiecki drop collars

French submarine Alose (Q33) (“Shad”) is a Naïade-class submarine of the Romazotti type that was built for the French Navy at the beginning of the 20th century. Alose remained in service until just prior to the outbreak of World War I in 1914.

Design and construction

Alose was ordered by the French Navy under its 1900 building programme, one of a class of twenty. She was designed by Gaston Romazotti, an early French submarine engineer. Alose was built at the Toulon Naval Dockyard and was launched on 12 October 1904. She was single-hulled, with dual propulsion, and constructed of Roma-bronze, a copper alloy of Romazotti's devising. Alose was named for the Shad, an open-water fish of the herring family.

Service history

Alose entered service in July 1907, and was employed on coastal duties, guarding ports and harbours. She was involved in several accidents, though none resulted in serious damage. In November 1906 she was struck by the steamer Mouette in Toulon Roads . In November 1910 she collided with sister ship Bonite, damaging both.

Fate

Alose was stricken in May 1914 and was used as a target ship, being sunk off Fréjus in March 1918.

In 1975 the wreck was discovered by French divers off Lion rock, near Saint-Raphaël, Var. She was raised and restored as a museum ship in May 1976, and now stands outside the offices of COMEX in Marseilles.

References

• Garier, Gérard (n.d.). Du Plongeur (1863) aux Guêpe (1904) [From Plongeur (1863) to Guêpe (1904)]. L'odyssée technique et humaine du sous-marin en France (in French). Vol. 1. Bourg-en-Bresse, France: Marines édition. ISBN 2-909675-19-X.
• Roberts, Stephen S. (2021). French Warships in the Age of Steam 1859–1914: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5267-4533-0.
• Smigielski, Adam (1985). "France". In Gray, Randal (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 190–220. ISBN 0-87021-907-3.

External links

• Base Palissy: Alose, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)