Katsonis-class submarine


The Katsonis class was a French-built class of two submarines for the Hellenic Navy, serving from 1927–28 until the Second World War. The ships of the class were the first new submarines acquired by Greece after the First World War.

Class overview
NameKatsonis class
Builders
  • Chantiers de la Gironde shipyard
  • Chantiers de la Loire shipyard[1]
Operators Hellenic Navy
Preceded byDelfin class
Succeeded byProtefs class
Built1925–1927[2][3]
In commission1927–1945[1]
Completed2[1]
Lost1[1][2]
Retired1[1][3]
General characteristics
TypeSubmarine
Displacement
  • surfaced: 576 tons;
  • submerged: 775 tons[2][3]
Length62.5 m (205 ft)[2][3]
Beam5.3 m (17 ft)[2][3]
Draft3.6 m (12 ft)[2][3]
Propulsion
  • one two-shaft Schneider-Carels diesel engine;
  • two electric engine motors;
  • 1,300 bhp, 1,000 shp[1]
Speed
  • surfaced: 14 kn (26 km/h; 16 mph)
  • submerged: 9.5 kn (17.6 km/h; 10.9 mph)[1]
Range3,500 nmi (6,500 km; 4,000 mi) surfaced @ 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph)[1]
Endurance100 nmi (190 km; 120 mi) submerged @ 5 kn (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph)[1]
Test depth260 ft (80 m)[1]
Complement30[2][3]
Armament
  • 2 × 21-inch (533 mm) internal bow T/T,
  • 2 × 21-inch (533 mm) external bow T/T,
  • 2 × 21-inch (533 mm) external stern T/T;
  • 1 × 100 mm gun, 2 MGs[1][2][3]
Painting of guns on board the Greek submarine, Papanicolis, in Beirut, Syria in 1942

Appearance and characteristics

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In general, they were similar to the French Navy's Circé-class submarines, of Schneider-Laubeuf design, but the conning tower was larger in order to accommodate the rotating platform of the 100 mm gun.[1]

Ships

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Katsonis class submarines
Name Pennant number Builder Launched Commissioned Fate
Katsonis Y-1 Chantiers de la Gironde 20 March 1926 8 June 1928 Sunk by a German submarine chaser on 14 September 1943.[1][2]
Papanikolis Y-2 Chantiers de la Loire 19 November 1926 21 December 1927 Decommissioned in 1945 and later scrapped. Its conning tower has been preserved, and is exhibited at the Hellenic Maritime Museum.[1][3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. p. 405. ISBN 0-87021-907-3. OCLC 12119866.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Katsonis Y-1 (1928–1943)". Hellenic Navy. Archived from the original on 2011-05-16. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Papanikolis Y-2 (1927–1945)". Hellenic Navy. Archived from the original on 2011-05-16. Retrieved 2010-11-04.