FRANCE'S WEAPON

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 146, 22 June 1934, Page 14

FRANCE'S WEAPON

AN UNDER-SEA ARMADA

FORTY YEARS A-BMLDING

POWERFUL FLEET

According to the British Admiralty's "Return of Fleets," France now possesses ninety-four submarines built'and fifteen under construction.'l have had, for a foreigner, the unique privilege of inspecting a large portion of this un-der-watcr. armada at the submarine base in Toulon, corresponding to Fort Blockhouse at Portsmouth, writes Hector Bywater in the "Daily Telegraph." By permission of the Commander-in-Chief, Yicc-Admiral. Mouget, and of Captain Moreau, commanding the submarine base, I saw boats' representing' the three types of submarine which France is now developing—the oceanic class of 1379 tons, the medium class, including minelayers, of 670 tons, and the coastal defence units 'of .550't0 580 tons. . After many years of experiment Franco has, apparently, evolved certain submarine types which definitely satisfy her exacting requirements. It is notorious that she has a high opinion of the military value of the under-sea | weapon, and is in no circumstances dis-1 posed to abandon this instrument in | deference to what most Fenchmen consider to be either sentimental or interested gestures by foreign critics. THE ELITE. What I'have seen convinces me that, the submarine service is a corps d'elite of the French Navy. " Its. officers are young and enthusiastic, the personnel is keen and highly disciplined, and the material is of the first, order. • These sleek, blacli>paiiited hulls, beautifully: :' streamlined - to ■ meet with equal insouciance 'thermild caresses ;of the' Mediterranean1 or.the rude' buffets of Atlantic' rollers; ecrntain within, their steel walls, destructive, elements which bode ill to future enemies of. France... ..Before..being accepted, by the French Navy, every new submarine undergoes the most searching tests, including a RfuiseVJol ;'niany,'tirousands' of miles.: The boat; iiiust-'be absolutely seaworthy^ her manoeuvring powers above and below water/beyond criticism^and her engines technically perfect ; before {she is. allowed :to. join the. flotilla.'.:■,.''.. il uiade. a. thorough inspection of the Yerigeur, v.an oceanic, submarine, which has been 0n1y..,a .year'iir two in com-; mission. I walked-her .comparatively spacious decks, where a .vicious-looking 3.9 quick-firer is "mounted/before the conning tower; descended: two vertical ladders leading fo the control room, and traversed the wide gangways which run fore a.id aft between a maze of machinery, noticing:- many: "gadgets" found in British "submarines. : : \ ■■ is-JTho living quarters for officers and men are as good as, if not'better than, any I have seen in a submarine of this tonnage, and the whole boat was clean tof.-sp.otlessness. For surface cruising tlieJ-Yengeur has Diesel engines of 0000 h<p:£Swhieh drives her at 18 knots, a speedff\sfhicli , she exceeded on trial. :W,K||iijfd^ing: she admits: about. 600 tons p£-:Hv£f§ij into her.tanks..." ■:.'.' ... ■^ft^^LAßtffi dßOTJP. '■.".' ■ :s:.'"SK6jHandies:very .sweetly,"; said one of her officers, referring to her movements' undo*l water. Whether on or below the surface she can discharge torpedoes from eleven tubes, and when cruising in the depths can stalk her quarry at ten knots. - -.- :.- ---% France has already a large group of these oceanic- boats and is building others, the last of which was laid down in' 1932. Simultaneously she is constructing small coastal submarines, which in dimensions and other features closely resemble the British Swordfish class. No new submarines are projected for the time being, and it is possible that France^ having by now created the most formidable undersea fleet in the world, may rest on her oars for a time before proceeding to develop new types. ~ Training is on strictly practical lines. The boats spend a lot of time at sea, and it speaks volumes both for their workmanlike design and the skill with which they are handled that mishaps are so rare. The French Navy has adoptee' the British Davis escape apparatus,' ai-.d a tank is now being built at the submarine base here in which officers and men will be able to become familiar with the use; of this artificial lung. Every officer with whom I spoke commended the British Admiralty's moral courage in proclaiming, last March, the futility of attempting to raise a sunken submarine in time to save the crow, and its decision not to attempt such a hopeless task in future. ( SCOTT'S INVENTION. In the courtyard of the submarine base I saw one of the original "dotters" invented by the late Admiral Sir Percy Scott for instructing gunlayers, and another British device, the "submarine attack teacher," was also pointed out to me by Captain Moreau. In the French, as in the British Navy, service in submarine is eagerly sought after by officers and men. It offers a freedom, an independence, and opportunities for personal initiative which are not to be found in big ships. Besides the Vengeur there were ten other submarines moored off the base, and another ten were lying elsewhere in the dockyard. The very latest arrival was La Sultane, a coastal boat of 565 tons, completed only a few months since, and distinguished by the peculiar shape of her conning tower. • Yet, in spite of her fresh paint and gleaming brightwork, she looked no smarter than boats which have been in service for several years and cruised thousands of miles. Much misunderstanding may be avoided in future if the outer world will realise that her submarine flotilla is not merely an integral, but a highly important component of France's system of naval defence. Forty years of unremitting effort and the expenditure of vast treasure, and still more valuable human lives, have gone to the creation of this powerful weapon, now, perhaps for the first time, as technically perfect as it is possible to be. So far as numbers are concerned, the strength of the French submarine forces is liable to be exaggerated. The grand total of 109 boats listed in the British official return includes many craft which are obsolete or on the verge of becoming ineffective. But even when these antiques are deducted, the frontline flotilla remains the most ■ formidable in existence. French naval officers, courteous though they be, find it difficult to conceal their indignation at the suggestion that the submarine is inherently a sinister and inhuman weapon, since to be terrible it must be used illegally. If that were true, why, they ask, should Great Britain, the United' States, and every other Power, great and small-, continue to build submarines'?