Bellone-class submarine

The Bellone class consisted of three submarines built for the French Navy during World War I. Completed in 1916–1918, they saw limited use during the war and were sold for scrap in 1936.

Design and description

The Bellone class was built as part of the French Navy's 1912 building program, intended as enlarged and faster versions of the. The boats displaced surfaced and submerged. They had an overall length of, a beam of, and a draft of. The crew numbered 28 officers and crewmen.
For surface running, the Bellones were powered by a pair of six-cylinder, two-cycle diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. The engines were provided by two different manufacturers and were intended to produce a total of, but were generally only capable of about. During 's sea trials on 12 September 1916, her Chaléassière engines only produced, enough for a speed of rather than the designed. The Sulzer engines were equally troublesome with 's captain stating that his boat's engines should not be pushed past on 5 December 1918. The boats were generally capable of on the surface in service. When submerged each shaft was driven by a electric motor. The designed speed underwater was. The Bellones carried enough fuel oil to give them a surface endurance of at. Their designed submerged endurance was at.
The Bellone-class boats were armed with a total of eight torpedoes. Two of these were positioned in the bow in internal tubes angled outwards 5° 45'. Four other were located in external rotating torpedo launchers, two on each broadside that could traverse 100–120 degrees to the side of the boats. Two more torpedoes were located in external launchers at the stern angled 5° 10' outwards. The boats were also equipped with a Mle 1897G gun aft of the conning tower.

Ships

Two of these three ships, the Gorgone and the Hermione, served in the Adriatic during World War I. The third ship, the Bellone, operated in the Atlantic during that time. As of 1935, all three ships were in the French Mediterranean Fleet, and during that year were stricken.

Name	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Completed	Fate
	Arsenal de Rochefort	23 April 1913	8 July 1914	12 July 1917	stricken, 29 July 1935
	Arsenal de Toulon	14 April 1913	15 March 1917	5 February 1918	stricken, 29 July 1935
	Arsenal de Toulon	2 June 1913	23 November 1915	12 October 1916	stricken, 24 July 1935