Circé (Q125) was a Circé-classsubmarine in commission in the French Navy from the late 1920s until 1942. She saw service in World War II, first on the side of the Allies from September 1939 to June 1940, then in the forces of Vichy France. Nazi Germany seized her in December 1942 and transferred to Italy, who renamed her FR117. FR117 was scuttled in May 1943.
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 13th Submarine Division, under the overall command of Royal NavyVice AdmiralMax Horton. Accordingly, Calypso and Thétis got underway from Bizerte, Tunisia, on 23 March 1940 and proceeded to Harwich, England, where the French Navy submarine tenderJules Verne was to support them as they patrolled the Heligoland Bight and the southern North Sea in support of the Norway operation.[3]
The Allies′ plans for Norway took on greater urgency on 9 April 1940, when Germany began Operation Weserübung, its invasion of Norway and Denmark. Circé arrived at Harwich on 14 April and Doris on 20 April to join Calypso and Thétis in supporting Allied operations in Norway. 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.[3]
By 6 May 1940, the Allies had indications that a German invasion of the Netherlands was imminent, and that day Horton ordered all available submarines to put to sea. Four French submarines, including Circé, received orders to join four British and two Polish submarines in forming a patrol line off the coast of the Netherlands to find and attack German submarines believed to be operating in the area. The Battle of France began when German ground forces advanced into France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg on 10 May 1940. On 17 May 1940, the French submarine Sibylle collided with Circé while submerging.[3]
On 4 June 1940, Jules Verne and all the French submarines assigned to her at Harwich departed Harwich and proceeded to Brest, France. Italy declared war on France on 10 June 1940 and joined the invasion of France that day. 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 Circé, got underway from Brest bound for Casablanca, which they reached on 23 June 1940.[3]
The Battle of France ended in France's defeat and armistice with Germany and Italy, which went into effect on 25 June 1940. On that day, Circé, Calypso, and Thétis were still part of the 13th Submarine Division, based at Toulon but assigned to overseas duty in "Africa and the Levant."[3]
Vichy France
After the armistice went into effect, Circé served in the naval forces of Vichy France. In December 1940, she was disarmed and placed under guard at Bizerte, Tunisia,[4] in accordance with the terms of the 1940 armistice. On 1 November 1942, she was still at Bizerte with eight other French submarines, under guard in an unarmed and unfueled status.[3]
On 8 November 1942, Allied forces landed in French North Africa in Operation Torch, and that day the French naval commander at Bizerte ordered the reactivation of Circé and three other submarines. Fighting between the Allies and Vichy French forces in North Africa ended on 11 November, and French forces in Africa began to join the forces of Free France. On 14 November the French maritime prefect of the 4th Region at Algiers in Algeria ordered French naval forces at Bizerte to move to Algiers, but on 15 November Vichy French authorities countermanded the order and instructed French forces at Bizerte to obey only orders they issued. To avoid bombardment by American forces, the French submarines anchored at the Sidi Abdallah Arsenal at Ferryville, Tunisia.[3]
The Germans seized Circé on 8 December 1942.[3] They handed her over to the Italians on 22 December 1942.[3]
Paul E. Fontenoy, Submarines: An Illustrated History of Their Impact, ABC-CLIO, 2007, ISBN1-85109-563-2, Google Print, p.184 (details of Circé class and end fates of all four submarines of that class)
