French submarine Espadon (1926)

Espadon

Sister ship Souffleur in 1926
History
France
Name	Espadon
Builder	Arsenal de Toulon
Laid down	1 October 1923
Launched	29 May 1926
Commissioned	16 December 1927
Fate	Captured by Italian forces on 8 December 1942
Italy
Name	FR 114
Acquired	8 December 1942
Fate	Scuttled by at the Castellamare shipyard on 13 September 1943, then raised by German forces in 1943 but not repaired.
General characteristics
Class and type	Requin-class submarine
Displacement	1,150 long tons (1,168 t) (surfaced) 1,441 long tons (1,464 t) (submerged)
Length	78.30 m (256 ft 11 in)
Beam	6.84 m (22 ft 5 in)
Draught	5.10 m (16 ft 9 in)
Propulsion	2 × diesel engines, 2,900 hp (2,163 kW) 2 × electric motors, 1,800 hp (1,342 kW)
Speed	15 knots (28 km/h) (surfaced) 9 knots (17 km/h) (submerged)
Range	7,700 nautical miles (14,300 km) at 9 knots (17 km/h) 70 nautical miles (130 km) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h) (submerged)
Test depth	80 m (260 ft)
Complement	51
Armament	10 × 550 mm (21.7 in) torpedo tubes 1 × 100 mm (3.9 in) deck gun 2 × 8 mm (0.31 in) machine guns

The French submarine Espadon was a Requin-class submarine built for the French Navy in the mid-1920s. Laid down in October 1923, it was launched in May 1926 and commissioned in December 1927. It was disarmed at Bizerte, Tunisia in April 1941 and captured there by Italian forces on 8 December 1942 and renamed FR 114. It was scuttled by the Italians at the Castellamare shipyard on 13 September 1943, then raised by the Germans in 1943 but not repaired.^[1][2][3][4]

78 m (255 ft 11 in) long, with a beam of 6.8 m (22 ft 4 in) and a draught of 5.1 m (16 ft 9 in), Requin-class submarines could dive up to 80 m (260 ft). The submarine had a surfaced displacement of 1,150 long tons (1,168 t) and a submerged displacement of 1,441 long tons (1,464 t). Propulsion while surfaced was provided by two 2,900 hp (2,163 kW) diesel motors and two 1,800 hp (1,342 kW) electric motors. The submarines' electrical propulsion allowed it to attain speeds of 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) while submerged and 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) on the surface. Their surfaced range was 7,700 nautical miles (14,300 km) at 9 knots (17 km/h), and 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h), with a submerged range of 70 nautical miles (130 km) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h).^[5]

• Fontenoy, Paul E. (2007). Submarines: An Illustrated History of Their Impact. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781851095636.