French submarine Naïade (1904)

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Naïade.

Sister ship Thon
History
France
Name	Naïade
Namesake	The Naiads
Builder	Cherbourg Naval Dockyard
Launched	20 February 1904
Fate	Stricken May 1914
General characteristics
Class and type	Naïade-class submarine
Displacement	70.5 t (69.4 long tons), (surfaced) 73.6 t (72.4 long tons) (submerged)
Length	23.7 m (77 ft 9 in)
Beam	2.2 m (7 ft 3 in)
Draft	2.6 m (8 ft 6 in)
Propulsion	1 × shaft; 1 × petrol engine (52cv/57bhp) 1 × electric motor (86cv/95shp)
Speed	7.2 knots (13.3 km/h; 8.3 mph) (surfaced) 6 kn (11 km/h; 6.9 mph) (submerged)
Range	200 nmi (370 km; 230 mi) at 5.5 knots (10.2 km/h; 6.3 mph) (surfaced) 30 nmi (56 km; 35 mi) at 4.1 kn (7.6 km/h; 4.7 mph) (submerged)
Complement	12
Armament	2 × single 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedoes in Drzewiecki drop collars

French submarine Naïade was the name ship of her class of submarines built for the French Navy at the beginning of the 20th century. She was of the Romazotti type, and Naiade remained in service until just prior to the outbreak of World War I in 1914.

Design and construction

Naïade was ordered by the French Navy under its 1900 building programme, the lead ship of a class of twenty. She was designed by Gaston Romazotti, an early French submarine engineer and director of the Cherbourg Naval Dockyard. Naïade was built at Cherbourg, and launched on 20 February 1904. She was single-hulled, with dual propulsion, and constructed of Roma-bronze, a copper alloy of Romazotti's devising. Naïade was named for the Naiads, the water spirits of Greek mythology, and was the latest of a line of French warships of that name.

Service history

Naïade entered service in early 1907, and was employed on coastal duties, guarding ports and harbours. She and her sisters were outdated by the next decade and she was stricken in May 1914.

References

• Garier, Gérard (n.d.). L'odyssée technique et humaine du sous-marin en France [The Technical and Human Odyssey of the Submarine in France: From Plongeur (1863) to Guêpe (1904)] (in French). Vol. 1: Du Plongeur (1863) aux Guêpe (1904). Bourg-en-Bresse, France: Marines édition. ISBN 2-909675-19-X.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
• Roberts, Stephen S. (2021). French Warships in the Age of Steam 1859–1914: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5267-4533-0.
• Smigielski, Adam (1985). "France". In Gray, Randal (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 190–220. ISBN 0-87021-907-3.