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The French submarine fleet of World War II was one of the largest in the world at that time. It saw action during the World War II, but had a chequered service history due to the complications created by France's position during the war. During the conflict, 59 submarines, over three-quarters of its total strength, were lost. ==Construction history== After World War I France had a fleet of 36 submarines, in a variety of classes, plus 11 ex-German U-boats; these were mostly obsolete (all had been disposed of by the 30's) and she was interested in replacing them. To this end the French Navy made plans for a fleet of vessels in three Types: Type I ocean-going / grand patrol; Type 2 coastal defence; Type 3 mine layers. At the same time, the major powers were negotiating an arms limitation treaty at the 1922 Washington Naval Conference. Whilst there was discussion of banning submarines altogether, and to outlaw their use (a course favoured by Britain) both France and Italy opposed this. However the conference did place restrictions on the number and size of warships of various types that nations could build.〔Bagnasco p38〕 The ocean-going submarine was restricted to a 1500-ton surface displacement, while the coastal submarine was limited to 600 tons, though there was no limit placed on the numbers of these vessels that could be built. In 1922-23 France ordered the ''Requin'' class, a Type 1 submarine. These ran to 9 vessels, but their indifferent performance led to calls for an improved design. This came in 1924 with the ''Redoutable'' class, a successful design, which ran to 31 vessels in three series. In 1923 the French Navy placed orders for a series of coastal/seagoing Type 2 boats. The order was placed with three different design bureaux, which led to three different designs to the same specification. Known collectively as the 600 Series, these were the ''Sirène'', ''Ariane'' and ''Circé'' classes, a total of 10 boats. They were followed in 1926 by the 630 Series, another three classes from the same bureaux. These were the ''Argonaute'', ''Orion'' and ''Diane'' classes, a further 16 boats. In 1934 the Navy opted for a standardized Admiralty design, the ''Minerve'' class of 6 boats, and in 1939 by the ''Aurore'' class, a larger, much improved version of the ''Minerve''. And further enlarged design, the ''Phenix'' class, were ordered but not built, due to France's defeat in 1940 and the subsequent armistice. The type 3 minelayer was represented by the ''Saphir'' class, a 1925 order for 6 boats. These were followed in 1937 by the ''Émeraude'' class, but again these were not built before the 1940 armistice. France also experimented with the concept of the submarine cruiser, in common with other navies of the time. In 1926 she built the ''Surcouf'', for many years the largest submarine ever built. However the vessel had little role to play in French naval strategy, and the experiment was not repeated. Thus in 1939 France had, in total, a fleet of 77 submarines, making it the fifth largest submarine force in the world at that time. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「French submarines of World War II」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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