French submarine Gymnote (S655)
Gymnote (S655) was an experimental submarine of the French Navy. She was a trials submarine for submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) and powered by diesel electric engines. She is named in honour of Gymnote, the world's first all-electric submarine built in France in the late 19th century.
 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Gymnote |
| Namesake | Gymnotus |
| Ordered | 1961 |
| Builder | Arsenal de Cherbourg |
| Laid down | 17 March 1963 |
| Launched | 17 March 1964 |
| Commissioned | 17 October 1966 |
| Out of service | 1986 |
| Identification | Q244, Q251, S655 |
| Fate | Scrapped |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Submarine |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 84.0 m (275.6 ft) |
| Beam | 10.6 m (35 ft) |
| Draught | 7.6 m (25 ft) |
| Propulsion | 2 shaft diesel electric |
| Speed |
|
| Complement | 78 men |
| Armament | 4 launch tubes for SLBM |
The French planned a nuclear propelled submarine in the late 1950s and laid down a hull (no Q244). Because France had not developed uranium enrichment facilities at the time, the planned power plant was to be a heavy water reactor, which could utilize natural uranium. But French engineers were unable to produce a reactor small enough to fit into the submarine, which led to the project being canceled in 1959.[1]
In the early 1960s the French government decided to develop an independent nuclear deterrent based on SLBM's. Hull Q244 was redesigned as a trials submarine with diesel-electric propulsion and four missile tubes in an extended casing. Re-designated Q251 and christened Gymnote, she was commissioned in 1966 and fired the first M-1 missile in 1968. The M-1 missile was subsequently deployed aboard the Redoutable-class submarines. She was extensively rebuilt in 1977-79 to enable trials of the new M-4 missile. In the 1980s, as part of a general re-numbering of the French submarine fleet, Gymnote was re-designated S655.
Gymnote was decommissioned in 1986.
See also
References
Citations
- Archived October 14, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
Sources
- Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1995). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. London: Conway Maritime. ISBN 0-85177-605-1. OCLC 34284130. Also published as Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen; Budzbon, Przemysław (1995). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-132-7. OCLC 34267261.