French submarine Prométhée (Q153)
Encyclopedia
Prométhée (Q153) was a French
Redoutable class
submarine
. The submarine sank while on trials near Cap Lévi
, off Cherbourg, France, killing 62 men.
. She is commanded by lieutenant de vaisseau Amaury Couespel du Mesnil. On 7 July 1932, the crew and engineers from Cherbourg Navy Yard
and Le Creusot
ironworks
ran trials of the engines in surface.
About noon, electrical engines trial was over. the Prométhée was 7 nautical miles north off the Cap Lévi's lighthouse, in Fermanville
. The captain ordered to begin the diesel engines trial. At this moment, the ballast tank
s flooded without any apparent reason. the submarine sank immediately but was not yet fitted for diving: compressed air tanks were empty so blowing out the ballast was impossible and no oxygen tanks were functional. About 15 people were on the Prométhée deck, including Couespel du Mesnil. He reported his submarine started to sink by the aft faster and faster, making a angle of 80°. The whole process lasted less than a minute.
Patrol boat
s and sea planes crisscrossed the area. The next morning, aviso
Ailette spotted the telephonic buoy of the submarine. Several calls were made but no answer returned. On the 9 July, the Artiglio and the Rostro arrived in the area and atmospheric divers
reached the wreck, 75 meters below the surface. They knocked on the hull but hadn't get any answer. 48 hours after the accident, the crew was assumed dead.
It was impossible to raise the submarine so it was impossible to give the bodies back to their families and to understand what happened. Based upon the Lieutenant Couespel du Mesnil's testimony, the investigating committee assumed that the ballasts flooding was due to a short circuit
or a wrong wiring.
ceremonies were cancelled in several cities, such as Cherbourg. On the 30 July 1932, Prime Minister Édouard Herriot
and Minister of Marine Georges Leygues
paid tribute to the victims and their families. A cross has been erected in Fermanville
for their memory.
A street of Dunkerque is named after the Prométhée.
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
Redoutable class
Le Redoutable class submarine (1931)
The Redoutable class submarines were ocean-going submarines of the French Navy during the Second World War. They were officially called "Long patrol submarines" , or "Type 1 submarines"...
submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
. The submarine sank while on trials near Cap Lévi
Fermanville
Fermanville is a commune in the Manche department in north-western France.French submarine Prométhée sank off Fermanville on 7 July 1932....
, off Cherbourg, France, killing 62 men.
Sinking
18 months after her launching, the Prométhée was still on trials before commissioningShip commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
. She is commanded by lieutenant de vaisseau Amaury Couespel du Mesnil. On 7 July 1932, the crew and engineers from Cherbourg Navy Yard
Cherbourg Naval Base
Cherbourg Naval Base is a naval base in the French town of Cherbourg. This town and its harbour have been used as a naval base since the end of the 18th century.- Current ships assigned :...
and Le Creusot
Le Creusot
Le Creusot is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne in eastern France.The inhabitants are known as Creusotins. Formerly a mining town, its economy is now dominated by metallurgical companies such as ArcelorMittal, Schneider Electric, and Alstom.Since the 1990s, the...
ironworks
Ironworks
An ironworks or iron works is a building or site where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and/or steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e...
ran trials of the engines in surface.
About noon, electrical engines trial was over. the Prométhée was 7 nautical miles north off the Cap Lévi's lighthouse, in Fermanville
Fermanville
Fermanville is a commune in the Manche department in north-western France.French submarine Prométhée sank off Fermanville on 7 July 1932....
. The captain ordered to begin the diesel engines trial. At this moment, the ballast tank
Ballast tank
A ballast tank is a compartment within a boat, ship or other floating structure that holds water.-History:The basic concept behind the ballast tank can be seen in many forms of aquatic life, such as the blowfish or argonaut octopus, and the concept has been invented and reinvented many times by...
s flooded without any apparent reason. the submarine sank immediately but was not yet fitted for diving: compressed air tanks were empty so blowing out the ballast was impossible and no oxygen tanks were functional. About 15 people were on the Prométhée deck, including Couespel du Mesnil. He reported his submarine started to sink by the aft faster and faster, making a angle of 80°. The whole process lasted less than a minute.
Rescue attempts
7 men out of 15 had survived at sea for an hour, when a fishing boat rescued them. Intensive searching began in the afternoon to find the wreck, as soon as the loss of the Prométhée is known at Cherbourg. International help was soon organized. Italian ships Artiglio and Rostro, world-known for their diving skills were asked to come.Patrol boat
Patrol boat
A patrol boat is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defense duties.There have been many designs for patrol boats. They may be operated by a nation's navy, coast guard, or police force, and may be intended for marine and/or estuarine or river environments...
s and sea planes crisscrossed the area. The next morning, aviso
Aviso
An aviso , a kind of dispatch boat or advice boat, survives particularly in the French navy, they are considered equivalent to the modern sloop....
Ailette spotted the telephonic buoy of the submarine. Several calls were made but no answer returned. On the 9 July, the Artiglio and the Rostro arrived in the area and atmospheric divers
Atmospheric diving suit
An atmospheric diving suit or ADS is a small one-man articulated submersible of anthropomorphic form which resembles a suit of armour, with elaborate pressure joints to allow articulation while maintaining an internal pressure of one atmosphere...
reached the wreck, 75 meters below the surface. They knocked on the hull but hadn't get any answer. 48 hours after the accident, the crew was assumed dead.
It was impossible to raise the submarine so it was impossible to give the bodies back to their families and to understand what happened. Based upon the Lieutenant Couespel du Mesnil's testimony, the investigating committee assumed that the ballasts flooding was due to a short circuit
Short circuit
A short circuit in an electrical circuit that allows a current to travel along an unintended path, often where essentially no electrical impedance is encountered....
or a wrong wiring.
Posterity
The loss of the Prométhée had a huge emotional impact in France and Europe. Bastille DayBastille Day
Bastille Day is the name given in English-speaking countries to the French National Day, which is celebrated on 14 July of each year. In France, it is formally called La Fête Nationale and commonly le quatorze juillet...
ceremonies were cancelled in several cities, such as Cherbourg. On the 30 July 1932, Prime Minister Édouard Herriot
Édouard Herriot
Édouard Marie Herriot was a French Radical politician of the Third Republic who served three times as Prime Minister and for many years as President of the Chamber of Deputies....
and Minister of Marine Georges Leygues
Georges Leygues
Georges Leygues was a French politician of the Third Republic. During his time as Minister of Marine he worked with the navy's chief of staff Henri Salaun in unsuccessful attempts to gain naval re-armament priority for government funding over army rearmament such as the Maginot Line.He was born...
paid tribute to the victims and their families. A cross has been erected in Fermanville
Fermanville
Fermanville is a commune in the Manche department in north-western France.French submarine Prométhée sank off Fermanville on 7 July 1932....
for their memory.
A street of Dunkerque is named after the Prométhée.
Sources
- Claude Huan, Les Sous-marins français 1918-1945, Rennes, Marines Éditions, 2004, 240 p. (ISBN 978-2915379075)
- Henri Le Masson, Les Sous-marins français des origines (1863) à nos jours, Éditions de la Cité, Brest, 1981