Name Circé Laid down 1905 Identification Pennant number Q47 Launched 19 September 1907 Builder Military port of Toulon | Namesake Circe Completed 1909 Construction started 1905 Length 47 m | |
Fate Sunk by U-47, 20 September 1918 | ||
Circé was the name ship of her class of two submarines built for the French Navy in the first decade of the 20th century.
Construction and career
On 29 April 1915, Circé made several attempts to penetrate the harbour of Cattaro. Finally she gained entrance, but found no targets and had to retire. On 31 March 1917 in the Adriatic, she launched a torpedo towards the German submarine UC-35, but missed.
On 24 May 1917, under command of Lt. Hélion De Cambourg, she succeeded in sinking the German submarine SM UC-24. This was one of the few kills (if not the only) by a French submarine during World War I.
On 20 September 1918, Circé under command of Lt. Henri Viaud was on anti-submarine patrol in the Southern Adriatic Sea, off Cattaro, when she was torpedoed by the Austro-Hungarian Navy submarine U-47 at 04:00, while recharging her batteries. Only one survivor, second-in-command Eugène Lapeyre, was picked up.