The Daphné-class diesel-electric submarines have a long story with glories and unfortunate
events.
They served in five navies, two of which used these boats in combat missions.
Today, we are investigating the Daphné class, the first submarine to sink a surface warship
after the Second World War.
The Daphné class has a special place in the history of naval warfare.
Defined by the French as "sous-marin à hautes performances de 800 tonnes", meaning "800-ton
high-performance submarine", it successfully participated in combat missions in the Atlantic
and Indian oceans.
On the contrary, the peacetime operations of the Daphné class witnessed many tragic
incidents.
The story of the Daphné class goes back to the end of the Second World War.
On May 9, 1945, the German Type XXI-class U-boat, U-2518, surrendered to British forces
at Horten Naval Base, Norway.
One year later, she was transferred to France.
After repairments and modifications, the French Navy commissioned the submarine on February
14, 1951, and renamed her FS Roland Morillot.
Using this experience, France initiated the E-48 project based on the Type XXI class and
designed the 1,600-ton ocean-going Narval class in the early-1950s.
Compared to the German U-boat, the Narval class had a new snorkel, detection systems,
extended range and doubled test depth.
Also, thanks to its new propellers, it was quieter.
Even though it shared many design features of the Narval class, the next 550-ton Aréthuse
class was an entirely new model, which was specifically designed for operations in the
Mediterranean Sea.
Its study phase originated in 1948, but the construction of this submarine began in 1955.
The 800-ton Daphné class was an enlarged version of the Aréthuse class.
It could operate in both shallow waters and oceans.
The first of its class, FS Daphné, was laid down in March 1958, launched on June 20, 1959,
and commissioned on June 1, 1964.
The forward diving planes were below the midplane of the hull and operated by tilting.
They could not retract or fold up.
The double-hulled Daphné class could cruise 56 hours underwater without snorkelling.
Air was enough for the crew for 206 hours when the machinery did not work.
The endurance of the submarine was 30 days.
The early Daphné-class submarines of the French Navy had two 1,225 horsepower SEMT-Pielstick
12 PA1 diesel engines.
The last two boats were equipped with the SEMT-Pielstick 12 PA4 V 185s.
The export variants of the submarine also had this engine.
Initially, the ears of the Daphné class consisted of the DSUV-2 passive sonar and the DUUX-2
passive rangefinding system.
In 1971, the submarine was fitted with the DUUA 2D active search sonar, housed in a distinctive
large dome on the nose.
During this modernization, the Daphné class also received the DLT D3 torpedo control system,
which allowed tracking eight targets, simultaneous guidance of two wire-guided torpedoes and
preparation for the launch of a third.
Thanks to these changes, the submarine gained the capability of launching the 550mm F17
wire-guided anti-ship torpedoes with an 18-kilometre range.
The Daphné class could also use the French-made 550mm E12, E14, E15, L3, and L5 torpedoes.
The E12 and E15 had a range of 12 kilometres, while the E14 and L3 had 5.5 kilometres.
The active/passive homing L5 could reach a distance of 9.5 kilometres.
The Daphné class had eight tubes in the bows for full-length torpedoes used to attack.
Its stern ones were all in the outer casing, outside the pressure hull, with two right
aft, launching over the propeller and two further forward and angled outwards at about
20 degrees.
They held only shortened torpedoes for self-defence.
The submarine did not have a torpedo room or reload.
The Daphné class had the I/J-band DRUA-33, also known as Calypso, radar.
It could only be used while the submarine is on the surface.
The radar, with 18 kilometres range, performed air/surface search and navigation functions.
In 1964, Portugal became the first customer of the submarine by ordering four Daphné-class
boats, which was defined as the Albacora in this country.
The first of them, NRP Albacora, was laid down on September 6, 1965, launched on October
13, 1966, and commissioned on October 1, 1967.
The third submarine, NRP Cachalote, was sold to Pakistan in 1977.
Unlike the French sisters, the Albacora had I-band Kelvin Hughes Type 1007 radar.
Pakistan acquired three Daphné class boats from France.
Also, as mentioned before, NRP Cachalote was bought from Portugal.
The Pakistan Navy defined these submarines as the Hangor class.
The first of them, PNS Hangor, was laid down on December 1, 1967, launched on June 28,
1969, and commissioned on January 12, 1970.
The Pakistani submarines had the DUUA 1 active/passive searchlight sonar and the I-band DRUA 31 surface
search and navigation radar.
Besides the French-made 550mm ones, they could use the 533mm wire-guided SUT torpedoes with
30 kilometres range.
After the modernization, the Hangor class gained the capability of launching the UGM-84
Sub-Harpoon anti-ship missile.
So, they could attack a target at a distance of over 120 kilometres.
These submarines could also lay the Stonefish sea mines.
The first submarine of the South African Navy was the Daphné class, defined as the Maria
van Riebeeck class in this country.
The first of three boats, SAS Maria Van Riebeeck, was laid down on Mar 14, 1968, launched on
Mar 18, 1969, and commissioned on Jun 18, 1970.
In 1992, these submarines were fitted with locally-developed sonars and periscopes.
After the apartheid regime ended, SAS Maria van Riebeeck, SAS Emily Hobhouse, and SAS
Joanna van der Merwe were renamed SAS Spear, SAS Umkhonto, and SAS Assegai, respectively.
In 1964, Spain ordered four Daphné-class boats, defined as the S-60 class in this country.
The first of them, SPS Delfín was laid down on August 13, 1968, launched on March 25,
1972, and commissioned on May 3, 1973.
The complement of the Daphné class was 53-person.
The submarine had a length of 57.8 metres, a beam of 6.8 metres, and a draught of 4.6
metres.
Its surfaced displacement was 860 tons, while its submerged displacement was 1,038 tons.
The propulsion system consisted of two 1,225 horsepower SEMT-Pielstick 12 PA4 V 185 diesel
engines.
Its maximum surfaced speed was 13.5 knots, while its maximum submerged speed was 16 knots.
The Daphné class could reach a range of 10,000 nautical miles at a speed of 7 knots.
The submarine had a maximum diving depth of 300 metres.
The French Navy service history of the Daphné class is full of unfortunate accidents.
In 1964, FS Diane suddenly sank 48 meters in an unexplained way while she cruised at
55 metres depth near the Spanish coasts.
The submarine did not harm, but the incident naturally caused severe fear among the crew.
On November 25, 1966, FS Doris collided with the Soviet tanker Stanislav.
On January 27, 1968, during an exercise, FS Minerve disappeared southeast of Cape Sicié
at a depth of 1,500 to 2,000 meters.
All crew members lost their lives.
The cause of the incident is still not clear.
The most likely scenarios are a failure of the diving rudder or a snorkel leakage.
On March 4, 1970, the French Navy lost FS Eurydice, this time due to an explosion.
The cause of the incident was never determined.
The most probable is a collision at a very shallow depth with a Tunisian freighter, the
Tabarka.
The second theory is the failure of the diving rudder.
On August 20 of the same year, two Daphné-class submarines, FS Galatée and SAS Maria van
Riebeeck, collided.
Both boats were severely damaged.
One year later, near Toulon, FS Flore's snorkel sprang a leak due to a faulty valve.
The engine broke down, the compartment flooded, and the submarine was forced to drop its safety
seals to be surfaced.
On May 9, 1980, FS Junon collided with a trawler.
On October 22, 1983, a fatal explosion occurred in the battery room of FS Doris.
The Spanish Navy also witnessed some misfortunes.
On June 10, 1976, SPS Narval suffered an accident while submerged when a valve blew out.
Despite these accidents, the Daphné class also had some impressive records.
FS Daphné cruised 300,000 nautical miles or about 14 times around the Earth.
During his 30 years of service, SPS Delfín made over 2,500 voyages and stayed over 30,000
hours underwater.
The Daphné class also had an impressive combat career.
During the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War, PNS Hangor became the first submarine to sink a surface
warship since the Second World War.
She sank the Indian Blackwood-class frigate INS Khukri on December 9, 1971.
Following the INS Khukri sinking, INS Kirpan of the same class moved into the scene and
began to throw depth charges onto PNS Hangor.
But, the submarine sent a third torpedo, which hit INS Kirpan.
The Indian frigate was not sunk but was heavily damaged.
So, INS Kirpan had to leave the battle scene.
After this incident, the Indian Navy initiated a massive search-and-destroy mission.
So, PNS Hangor submerged for almost a week.
When she returned to Pakistan, her batteries were almost depleted.
In the 1982 Falklands War, the British nuclear-powered submarine HMS Conqueror sunk the Argentine
cruiser ARA General Belgrano.
So can we say PNS Hangor has kept the title of being the first and only diesel-electric
submarine that sunk a warship since the Second World War?
It is disputable.
South Korea claims that a Yono class or a Sang-O-class submarine of the North Korean
Navy sunk the Pohang-class corvette ROKS Cheonan on March 26, 2010.
After the investigation, many Western experts support this claim, while China and North
Korea do not accept it.
So, we may say PNS Hangor officially keeps the title.
South Africa also used its Maria van Riebeeck-class boat in combat, but in a different way.
The South African Navy tasked these submarines with special forces operations.
In 1972, SAS Emily Hobhouse landed a special forces group near Dar es Salaam, Tanzania,
to place explosives on a bridge next to power lines and other targets around town.
In 1975, just before Operation Savannah, SAS Johanna van der Merwe was deployed into Angolan
waters under Operation Yskas to prepare for the evacuation of the South African military
personnel.
In 1984, the South African Defence Force initiated Operation Nobilis to destroy the Angolan Osa
II-class missile boat.
The secondary objective was to attack cargo vessels as long as they were not flying Soviet
flags.
SAS Johanna van der Merwe transported the special forces unit to Luanda.
The South Africans did not find the Osa IIs in the harbour.
However, they attacked the two cargo vessels, 7,500-ton MV Arendsee and 9,000-ton MV Lundoge.
The first ship, carrying heavy vehicles, artillery and industrial cargo, was sunk by two explosives
set by the South Africans.
MV Lundoge, carrying military equipment and food, was hit by two explosions but managed
to sail to a nearby quay before settling.
FS Diane became the first decommissioned Daphné-class submarine on December 30, 1987.
In 2010, the last boat of the class, the NRP Barracuda of the Portuguese Navy, retired.
FS Flore, NRP Barracuda, PNS Hangor, SAS Assegai, and SPS Delfín are now museum ships.
Despite all the unfortunate events they've been through, the Daphné-class submarines
also proved their values countless times.
They patrolled on the most crucial sea lines, fought gallantly, and became the most trusted
companion of the special forces units.
The Daphné class deserves to be mentioned as a true legend.
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