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This is the crew of the Farfadet, standing in a rare position of safety.
You probably want more reserve buoyancy than that, lads.
You probably want more reserve buoyancy than that, lads.
Told you.
It's okay though - they had a spare. This is Lutin.
Bugger.
Yes, it's time to meet the Farfadet class - four French submarines whose only purpose appears to have been to give salvage divers something to look forward to.
Entirely electric, and blessed with a nominal range on the surface - if only they could stay on it - of just 100 miles, the Farfadet class were not a notable success other than in pioneering the use of scaffolding in naval architecture.
Possibly it was to help the divers later.
Possibly it was to help the divers later.
If the internet isn't entirely pulling my leg - and I've got my doubts - the final hatch could only be closed once the ballast was full and the submarine already submerging.
In a weird paradox this design both is and isn't sub-optimal.
In a weird paradox this design both is and isn't sub-optimal.
In the case of Farfadet itself there was a problem with the hatch closing properly. According to the Times a sailor tried to open the door and slam it shut again.
Underwater.
Underwater.
Submarine designer John P Holland, seen here emerging from his infamous mechanical seagull, suggested instead that a shift of ballast could have submerged the hatches whilst still on the surface.
And looking at the complete lack of freeboard this seems plausible enough to me.
Lutin, meanwhile, was lost apparently because a pebble got stuck in the hatch, or possibly a valve, preventing it from sealing. The tale of the rescue attempts makes for sad reading.
Farfadet was refitted and sailed again under the name Follet until 1913, or possibly later. Lutin, Gnome and Korrigan were disarmed and "assigned to other purposes".
Hopefully none of them involved water.
Hopefully none of them involved water.
Incidentally, this account has previously drawn attention to the cutthroat history of Toulon's postcard industry... https://twitter.com/TheDreadShips/status/1304706200584552448?s=20
A hazy copy of this image is what prompted this thread - I mean, just look at this thing - but one word down in the bottom right suggests darker forces are afoot here...
Update on their ultimate fate for 'other purposes' (I've no reason to doubt this): https://twitter.com/SFKissinger/status/1360284341998399494?s=20
