Daphné-class submarine

Template:Infobox ship imageTemplate:Infobox ship class overviewTemplate:Infobox ship characteristics

The Daphné-class submarine was a class of the diesel-electric powered submarines designed and constructed for the French Navy in 1964. Marketed by the French government for the export market, the Daphné design went on to serve in South Africa while there were subclasses based on the Daphné design that were commissioned in the navies of Pakistan, Portugal, and Spain. The submarines were in operation between 1964 and the late 1990s, their service lives being extended to fill the capability gap until the newer French nuclear submarines became available. Two French submarines were lost and a third was sunk, but was salvaged.

Background and design

File:Doris 1994.jpg

Doris

These submarines were developed from the preceding Template:Sclass by the French Navy. Larger than the Aréthuse class, they were a second-class counterpart to the ocean-going Narval class. Their design emphasized maneuverability, low noise production and ease of maintenance.Template:Sfn As a result, the submarines were extremely quiet when submerged.Template:Sfn Their maintenance system was based on modular replacement which led to low crew numbers, but also led to no reloads for their torpedo complement.Template:Sfn

Submarines of the Daphné class in French service measured Template:Convert long overall with a beam of Template:Cvt and a draught of Template:Cvt.Template:Sfn They had a standard displacement of Template:Convert, and displaced Template:Cvt surfaced and Template:Cvt submerged.Template:Sfn The submarines had a double hull and had a complement of 6 officers and 39 sailors.Template:Sfn

Each vessel of the class was fitted with two SEMT-Pielstick diesel engines, with two 450-kilowatt diesel generator sets, and two electric motors turning two shafts creating Template:Convert sustained with the ability to create Template:Cvt for short periods.Template:Sfn The first seven boats were given the SEMT-Pielstick 12 PA1 diesel engine type, while the final two hulls were given the SEMT-Pielstick 12 PA4-135 type.Template:Sfn The submarines had a diving depth of Template:Cvt and could remain at sea for 30 days. Daphné-class submarines had a maximum speed of Template:Convert surfaced and Template:Convert submerged with a range of Template:Convert at Template:Convert while snorkelling.Template:Sfn

The submarines were equipped with twelve torpedo tubes, eight located in the bow and four located in the stern. The submarines was armed with twelve Template:Convert torpedoes and no reloads. Each submarine sported one DRUA 33 radar and DUUA 1 sonar. Beginning in 1971, the boats were modernized and given the DUUA 2B search and attack sonar located in a dome situated atop the bow. They also received the updated DLT D3 torpedo fire control system.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The submarines also mounted DSUV 2 passive sonar and DUUX 2 acoustic telemeter.Template:Sfn

Construction and career

File:PsychéRouen1994.jpg

Psyché

Constructed at three shipyards in France, the first entered service in 1964 and the last in 1970. Two French submarines were lost; Minerve in 1968 and Eurydice in 1970.Template:Sfn All of the remaining submarines underwent modernization beginning in 1971. Sirène sank in 1972 at Lorient, but was salvaged. The boats were planned for disposal in the 1980s, however, the slow delivery of their nuclear submarine replacements led to their careers being extended.Template:Sfn

Ships in class

French Daphné-class submarine construction dataTemplate:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Hull no.	Name	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Fate
S641		Chantiers Dubigeon, Nantes	March 1958	20 June 1959	1 June 1964	Decommissioned 1989
S642			July 1958	4 October 1960	20 June 1964	Decommissioned 1988
S643		Cherbourg Naval Dockyard, Cherbourg	September 1958	14 May 1960	26 August 1964	Decommissioned 1994
S644				19 June 1962	26 September 1964	Sank on 4 March 1970
S645			September 1958	14 May 1960	26 August 1964	Decommissioned 1989, preserved as museum ship in Lorient, France
S646			September 1958	22 September 1961	25 July 1964	Decommissioned 1991
S647		Chantiers, Dubigeon, Nantes		31 May 1961	10 June 1964	Sank 27 January 1968
S648		Cherbourg Naval Dockyard, Cherbourg	July 1961	11 May 1964	25 February 1966	Decommissioned 1996
S649			August 1961	24 September 1964	1 June 1966	Decommissioned 1990
S650		Brest Naval Dockyard, Brest	May 1965	28 June 1967	1 July 1969	Decommissioned 1996
S651			May 1965	28 June 1967	1 March 1970	Decommissioned 1996

Export

Following the end of World War II, the export market for warships had changed. Gone were the old purveyors of export warships like Italy and the US only sold used designs. This left the United Kingdom and France as the only countries with the extra shipbuilding capability to build ships for export. In the 1960s, the United Kingdom offered the Template:Sclass and the French offered the Daphné class. The Oberons were more expensive and more difficult to operate.Template:Sfn Smaller navies opted for the Daphnés or in the case of Spain, were rejected by the United Kingdom.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Pakistan Navy

File:PNS Ghazi 134 DN-SC-92-03633.JPEG

Initially the Portuguese Cachalote, the submarine was sold to Pakistan in 1975 and renamed Ghazi

The Pakistan Navy Daphné-class submarines, sometimes dubbed the Hangor class, were three submarines built in France for Pakistan and one acquired from Portugal in 1975. The first three hulls ordered were the first ever submarines constructed for Pakistan.Template:Sfn The Hangor class used the 12 PA4-135 type diesel engines and had a complement of 5 officers and 45 sailors.Template:Sfn Their interior differed from the French model in order to meet Pakistan's requirements.Template:Sfn The fourth hull was acquired from Portugal in 1975. PNS Hangor sank the Indian frigate Template:INS during the 1971 Indo-Pakistani war.Template:Sfn In the late 1980s, the vessels had the capability of launching submarine-launched anti-ship missiles added, making them able to fire Harpoon missiles.Template:Sfn Pakistan has now retired the submarines and is replacing them.

Hangor-class submarine construction dataTemplate:Sfn
Hull no.	Name	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Fate
S131		Brest Naval Dockyard, Brest	1 December 1967	28 June 1967	12 January 1970	Decommissioned January 2006 and placed in Pakistan Maritime Museum
S132		C.N. Ciotat, Le Trait	1 December 1967	30 July 1969	12 January 1970	Decommissioned January 2006
S133			8 July 1968	7 February 1970	8 August 1970	Decommissioned January 2006
S134		Acquired in December 1975, former Portuguese NRP Cachalote			17 January 1977	Decommissioned January 2006

Portuguese Navy

File:NRP Barracuda.JPG

NRP Barracuda at Cacilhas dock in 2012

Template:Main article The four Albacora-class submarines of the Portuguese Navy were ordered in 1964Template:Sfn and built in France using the Daphné design with some modifications to meet Portuguese requirements. The submarines were of prefabricated design with component sections being constructed between 1 October 1964 and 6 September 1965.Template:Sfn The four vessels were equipped with the SEMT-Pielstick 12 PA1 diesel engines.Template:Sfn The submarines were fitted for operating in tropical waters. In 1975 Portugal sold Cachalote to Pakistan.Template:Sfn

Albacora-class submarine construction dataTemplate:Sfn
Pennant	Name	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Fate
S163		Chantiers Dubigeon, Nantes	6 September 1965	13 October 1966	1 October 1967	Decommissioned 2000. Sunk at moorings and scrapped, 2011
S164			19 October 1965	24 April 1967	4 May 1968	Decommissioned 2010. Preserved in Lisbon
S165			27 October 1966	16 February 1968	25 January 1969	Sold in December 1975 to Pakistan
S166			14 May 1967	23 September 1968	1 October 1969	Decommissioned 2005

South African Navy

File:SAS Emily Hobhouse S98 c.jpg

SAS Assegaai as SAS Emily Hobhouse c. 1994

After South Africa became a republic in 1961, the country was forced to leave the Commonwealth and the United Kingdom refused to sell weapons to the country. South Africa turned to France and in conjunction with the construction of a submarine base at Simon's Town, acquired three Daphné hulls in 1967.Template:Sfn These were the first submarines ever constructed for South Africa.Template:Sfn Upon completion of the first ship, the three vessels were sometimes referred to as the Maria van Riebeeck class.Template:Sfn They had a complement of 47, including 6 officers.Template:Sfn The submarines were modernized locally, receiving updated sonar and displays in the 1980s, with Emily Hobhouse finishing the refit in 1988, Johanna van der Merwe in 1990 and Maria van Riebeeck in 1992. In 1980, South Africa attempted to acquire two of Portugal's hulls.Template:Sfn

South African submarine construction dataTemplate:Sfn
Hull no.	Name	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Fate
S97	(ex-Maria van Riebeeck)	Chantiers Dubigeon, Nantes	14 March 1968	18 March 1969	22 June 1970	Sold for scrap 2002
S98	(ex-Emily Hobhouse)		18 November 1968	24 October 1969	25 January 1971	Scrapped 2003
S99	(ex-Johanna van der Merwe)		24 April 1969	21 July 1970	21 July 1971	Decommissioned 2003, converted to museum ship 2008

Spanish Navy

File:Torrevieja - Museo Flotante, Submarino S-61 (2).jpg

Delfín as a museum ship

As part of Spain's attempt to build up their shipbuilding industry in the post-World War II era, they sought to learn techniques from various nations by acquiring ships from them, such as American destroyers and submarines. Initially, the Spanish sough to acquire British Oberon-class submarines but failed to complete a deal after receiving a negative reaction from the British.Template:Sfn The Spanish turned to the French and in an agreement signed on 16 July 1966, acquired the right to build Daphné-class submarines under license in Spain with design aid from France. Designated the Delfín class or the S-60 class by Spain, the vessels were of a modified design, measuring Template:Cvt long with a draught of Template:Cvt and displacing Template:Cvt surfaced and Template:Cvt submerged.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The first two hulls were ordered in December 1966, followed by two more in March 1970. A fifth hull was planned, but never ordered. All four submarines were by built by Bazan at their Cartagena dockyard. The submarines were modernized at Cartagena between 1983 and 1988 where the navy replaced their DUUA 1 sonar forward with the DUUA 2A model and updated the torpedo fire control. The DUUA 2 was mounted forward in a dome on the bowTemplate:Sfn like on the French submarines while the submarines kept the DUUA-1D sonar at the rear.Template:Sfn

Delfin / S-60-class submarine construction dataTemplate:Sfn
Pennant	Name	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Fate
S61		Bazan, Cartagena	13 August 1968	25 March 1972	3 May 1973	Decommissioned 2003, since 2004 a museum ship at Torrevieja
S62			2 March 1970	3 October 1972	10 July 1973	Decommissioned 2005, museum ship at Cartagena
S63			19 March 1971	15 March 1974	12 April 1975	Decommissioned 2006. Sold for scrap.
S64			24 April 1972	14 December 1974	22 November 1975	Decommissioned 2003. Sold for scrap.

See also

• List of submarines of France

External links

• Sous-marin Minerve : Caractéristiques principales