The Naïade-class submarines, sometimes referred to as the Perle classJane, p. 135 were a group of submarines built for the French Navy at the beginning of the 20th century. There were twenty vessels in this class, which was designed by Gaston Romazotti. The class introduced internal combustion engines into French submarine design. They remained in service until just prior to the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.
Design and description The Naïade class was designed by Gaston Romazotti, an early French submarine engineer and director of the Arsenal de Cherbourg to a specification for a small coastal-defense submarine. They were of a single-hull design, derived from the first French submarine, , but with a Diesel–electric powertrain.Roberts, p. 424 The hull was constructed of Roma-bronze, a copper alloy devised by Romazotti to resist corrosion better than steel.Staglini & Cosentino, pp. 247 The submarines had a surfaced displacement of and submerged. They measured long overall with a beam of and draught of . The crew numbered nine men.Roberts, p. 425
The Naïades were equipped with a variable-pitch propeller and two auxiliary side-thrusting propellers (). On the surface, the propeller shaft was driven by two dynamos powered either by the Panhard et Levassor four-cycle benzol engine designed to produce or the batteries used underwater. Speeds attained during the boats' sea trials reached up to from . Underwater power for the Naïades was provided by a Société Éclairage Électrique electric motor rated at and intended to give them a maximum speed of . Speeds during their sea trials were disappointing at only from . They were designed to have a range of at submerged and at on the surface. The Naïade class were armed with two single torpedoes located externally in Drzewiecki drop collars.
Assessment The Naïades were smaller than Romazotti's previous and s, smaller in fact than any French submarine to that date except the pioneering Gymnote. However the Naïades had an adequate armament (two torpedoes, carried externally) and a good performance, with a better range than Romazotti's previous designs or the contemporary , though not as good as and . They were considered good surface boats, with good maneuverability but erratic when submerged.
Ships in class + Naïade-class submarines Name Budget number Namesake Builder Launched Fate Q33 "Shad" Arsenal de Toulon 12 October 1904 Stricken May 1914; preserved as museum ship Q32 "Eel" Arsenal de Toulon 8 August 1904 Stricken May 1914 Q19 "Bonito" Arsenal de Toulon 6 February 1904 Stricken May 1914 Q26 "Beaver" Arsenal de Rochefort 5 November 1903 Stricken May 1914 Q22 "Dorado" Arsenal de Toulon 5 November 1903 Stricken May 1914 Q18 "Sturgeon" Arsenal de Toulon 8 January 1904 Stricken 1912 Q31 "Gurnard" Arsenal de Toulon 15 July 1904 Stricken 1913 Q25 "Otter" Arsenal de Rochefort 25 August 1903 Stricken May 1914 Q24 "Diver" Arsenal de Toulon 18 March 1904 Stricken May 1914 Q23 "Lynx" Arsenal de Cherbourg 24 November 1903 Stricken May 1914 Q29 "Jellyfish" Arsenal de Rochefort 15 June 1904 Stricken May 1914 Q15 "Naiad" Arsenal de Cherbourg 20 February 1904 Stricken May 1914 Q28 "Sealion" Arsenal de Rochefort 16 April 1904 Stricken May 1914 Q30 "Urchin" Arsenal de Rochefort 26 September 1904 Stricken May 1914 Q17 "Pearl" Arsenal de Toulon 1 November 1903 Stricken May 1914 Q27 "Seal" Arsenal de Rochefort 16 March 1904 Stricken May 1914 Q16 "Proteus" Arsenal de Cherbourg 8 October 1903 Stricken May 1914 Q21 "Dolphin" (lit. "Blower") Arsenal de Toulon 20 April 1903 Stricken May 1914 Q20 "Tuna" Arsenal de Toulon 18 March 1904 Stricken May 1914 Q34 "Trout" Arsenal de Toulon 14 April 1905 Stricken May 1914
Service history The Naïades were ordered as part of the French Navy's 1900 building programme, and were constructed over the next five years at the naval dockyards at Toulon, Rochefort and Cherbourg. The entire class was assigned for service in the Mediterranean Sea apart from the three submarines constructed at Cherbourg which served in the English Channel.
By 1905, they had been reclassified as harbour defence boats. They remained in service until just prior to the outbreak of the First World War, but by then had been superseded by more modern designs and all were stricken by mid-1914. The wreck of Alose which was scuttled during an aerial bombing exercise in 1918, was discovered and raised in May 1975. The vessel is preserved as a museum piece at the headquarters of COMEX (the Compagnie Maritime d'Expertises) in Marseille and was declared a French national historic site in 2008.Delgado, p. 226
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