A World War II Wreck in Lebanon – The Submarine Souffleur
A few years ago, I became interested in submarine wrecks, and, in my research, a name appeared - Souffleur. It was a name I did not know, that I had not seen anywhere, and which sank in Lebanon. After a few months of preparation, my friend Erwan and I left to investigate this shipwreck.
The submarine was part of the [Requin or] “Shark” class of 1924. Those ships, numbering nine, were built for France for long-range and deep missions. These 950-ton vessels were launched between 1924 and 1927, and specifically designed to operate in remote stations. They had a range of 7700 nautical miles and could cruise for 30 days, with an operational depth of 80m. They also had ten 550-mm torpedo tubes, including four bow, two stern, and four in two movable external benches, and 16, the , the , and the , which was the only one to survive the war. It was retired from service in 1946. Then came the , the , the , the , and the , which was built in Cherbourg, launched in October 1924, and put into service on August 10, 1926. 78.25m-long, 6.84m-wide, 5.10m of draft, and equipped with two diesel engines and two electric motors, its speed was 14 knots, and carried a crew of 51 sailors.
