Orphée (Q163) was a French Navy Diane-class submarine commissioned in 1933. During World War II, she operated on the Allied side until 1940, when she became part of the naval forces of Vichy France. In 1942 she joined the Free French Naval Forces. She was condemned in 1946.
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Construction and commissioning
Orphée was ordered in 1928 as part of Naval Program 115. Her construction began on 18 December 1928, and her keel was laid down at the Augustin Normand shipyard in Le Havre, France, on 22 August 1929. She was launched on 10 November 1931. After fitting out, she was commissioned for trials on 1 February 1932. Her official trials began on 16 April 1932, and her final equipping and armament took place at Cherbourg, France, from 31 December 1932 to 15 March 1933. She was placed in full commission on 8 June 1933.
Service history
Pre-World War II
On 23 May 1933, Orphée lost a crewman.
On 28 November 1934, the submarine Eurydice got underway from Cherbourg to conduct exercises with Orphée and Orphée′s sister ship Oréade.
World War II
When World War II began on 1 September 1939 with the German invasion of Poland, Orphée was part of the 16th Submarine Division — a part of the 1st Maritime Prefecture at the Submarine Center — at Cherbourg along with her sister ships Amazone, Antiope, and Sibylle. France entered the war on the side of the Allies on 3 September 1939.
In 1940 the Allies made plans to intervene in Norway to prevent the shipment of iron ore from Sweden to Germany via Narvik on the Norwegian coast. Twelve French submarines were to participate in the operation, including the four submarines of the 16th Division, under the overall command of Royal Navy Vice Admiral Max Horton. Accordingly, all four submarines of the 16th Submarine Division got underway in company with the French Navy submarine tender Jules Verne and proceeded to Harwich, England, where they arrived on 22 March 1940. At Harwich, they formed the 10th Flotilla under Horton's command. The four submarines patrolled in the North Sea off the coast of the Netherlands until 7 April 1940 without success.
On 8 April 1940 German U-boats began operations in accordance with Operationsbefehl Hartmut ("Operation Order Hartmut") in support of Operation Weserübung, the German invasion of Norway and Denmark. Allied operations related to Norway became of greater urgency when the German invasion of both countries began on 9 April 1940. The French submarines found limited facilities available to them at Harwich and had to rely largely on Jules Verne and spare parts sent from Cherbourg in France for repairs, some of which never were completed. On 21 April 1940, Orphée fired two torpedoes at the German submarine U-51 in the North Sea at 57°N 005°E, but both missed.
German ground forces advanced into France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg on 10 May 1940, beginning the Battle of France. On 25 May 1940, Jules Verne and the submarines of the 2nd, 13th, and 16th Submarine Divisions arrived in Dundee, Scotland. On 4 June 1940 Jules Verne and all the French submarines assigned to her departed Dundee and proceeded to Brest, France.
Italy declared war on France on 10 June 1940 and joined the invasion. As German ground forces approached Brest on 18 June 1940, all French ships received orders at 18:00 to evacuate the port, with those unable to get underway ordered to scuttle themselves. At 18:30, Jules Verne and 13 submarines, including Orphée, got underway from Brest bound for Casablanca, French Morocco, which they reached on 23 June 1940.
Post-World War II
On 16 October 1945, Orphée collided with the Spanish fishing trawler José Carmen. At 11:20 on 3 March 1946 she suffered an explosion while docked at Casablanca that killed two men and injured nine. The explosion was attributed to poor ventilation of her batteries. In April 1946, a request was made for recognition of members of Orphée′s crew who particularly distinguished themselves in responding to the accident.
Final disposition
Orphée was condemned on 26 March 1946 and disarmed in April 1946.
Honors and awards
Croix de Guerre 1939–1945, awarded 23 August 1946