French Navy Deployment, English Channel 1914 (original) (raw)

French Navy Deployment, Minelayers, Submarines Torpedo Boats and Gunboats, August 1914

Contributed by Doug Thompson (doug_thompson@adg.ardemgaz.com), with his own comments interspersed throughout.

Sources:
Conway's
Halpern

Note the large gaps between ID numbers on the subs. This is not a mistake. France scrapped a lot of designs that never worked out.

MINELAYERS: both with 2nd Lt. Squad., Channel
Pluton
Cerber

SUBMARINES
(All four of these were used for local defense at Cherbourg)
Sirene Q 5
Triton Q 6
Espadon Q 13
Silure Q 14

Aigrette Q 38-- Local defense, Cherbourg
Cigogne Q 39-- Not known. Reported in Brindizi in 1916.

Argonaute Q 40-- Not known.

Emeraude Q 41-- Not known.
Opale Q 42-- Not known.
Rubis Q 43-- Not known.
Saphir Q 44-- Not known. Sunk at Dardenelles Jan. 15, 1915.
Topase Q 45-- Not known.
Turquoise Q 46-- Not known. Grounded and captured at Dardenelles Oct. 30, 1915.

Circe Q 47-- Touloun; she sank her sister ship Calypso in a collision there on July 7, 1914.

Pluviose Q 51-- Not known.
Ventuse Q 52 -- Not known.
Germinal Q 53 -- Not known.
Floreal Q 54 -- Not known.
Prairial Q 55 -- Not known.
Messidor Q 56 -- Not known.
Thermidor Q 57 -- Not known.
Fructidor Q 58 -- Not known.
Papin Q 64 -- Not known. Sept. 9, 1915-- torpedoed Austrian torpedo boat.
Fresnel Q 65 -- Not known. July 13, 1915-- defended Pelagosa
Berthelot Q 66 -- Not known.
Monge Q 67 -- Not known. Sunk in the Adriatic, Dec. 29, 1915
Ampere Q 68 -- Not known. Missed Austria-Hungarian DD, July 23, 1915.
Gay-Lussac Q 69 -- Not known.
Watt Q 75 -- Not known.
Cugot Q 76 -- In Mediterranean (Halpern)
Giffard Q 77 -- Not known.

BRUMAIRE CLASS: ALL IN THE MEDITERRANEAN
Brumaire Q 60
Frimaire Q 62
Nivose Q 63
Foucault Q 70
Euler Q 71
Franklin Q 72
Faraday Q 78
Volta Q 79
Newton Q 80
Montgolfier Q 81
Beruouilli Q 83
Joule Q 84
Coulomb Q 85
Arago Q 86
Curie Q 87
Le Verrier Q 88

Archimede Q 73-- Not known. Dec. 28, 1915: sank transport in Adriatic.
Mariotte Q 74-- Not known. Sunk at Dardenelles

Amiral Bourgois Q 82-- Channel

Cloriade Q 90-- Not known.
Cornelie Q 91 -- Not known.

Gustave Zede Q 92-- Adriatic.

SEA-GOING TORPEDO BOATS
Groudier (Coureur Class) (Positively ancient: must be for harbor service. D. Th.)

Orage (Agile Class) (18-knot top speed in 1896)

Chevalier (Patrol duties in Mediterranean)
Averne (Not known)

Aquilon (Filibuster class) (Not known)
Ariel (Not known)

Forban (Not known)

Cyclone (Algiers)
Rafale (Dunkirk)
Boree (Toulon)
Tramontane (Dunkirk)
Bourraque (Bizerta)

Mistral (Brest)
Sirocco (Dunkirk)
Trombe (Not known. In the Channel by 1916)
Audacieux (Brest)

TORPEDO BOATS
No. 133 (130 class) (Not known)
No. 158 (145 class) (Not known)

201 CLASS (Whether this was all that were in commission from 1914 to 1918 is not explicitly stated)
225, 231, 258, 259, 279, 280-- Dunkirk
275, 279-- Not known. Atlantic patrol, 1915 to 1918.
263, 274, 289-- Tunisian patrol
281, 288-- Not known. Brindizi, 1915-1918.

295 CLASS (Again, there might be more)
300, 302, 306, 308, 316, 317, 314, 326, 327, 334, 340-- Channel
301, 307-- Atlantic
305, 314, 318, 320-323, 341-346, 350-351, 365-- Dunkirk
303, 324, 334, 338, 367-- Not known. Bay of Biscay by 1916.
310-- Not known. Mediterranean by 1916
328-330, 333, 355, 356, 361, 362, 366-- Not known. Tunisian patrol by 1916.
309-311, 353, 357, 359-- Not known. Used at the Dardanelles in 1915.

GUNBOATS
Kersaint-- Far East dispatch boat
Suprise-- Cameroons
Decidee-- Indochina
Zelee-- Tahiti

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Last Updated: 10 February, 1999.