French submarine Alose (Q33) (“Shad”) is a of the Romazotti type that was built for the French Navy at the beginning of the 20th century. Alose remained in service until just prior to the outbreak of World War I in 1914.
Design and description The Naïade class was designed by Gaston Romazotti, an early French submarine engineer and director of the Arsenal de Cherbourg to a specification for a small coastal-defense submarine. They were of a single-hull design, derived from the first French submarine, , but with a Diesel–electric powertrain.Roberts, p. 424 The hull was constructed of Roma-bronze, a copper alloy devised by Romazotti to resist corrosion better than steel.Staglini & Cosentino, pp. 247 The submarines had a surfaced displacement of and submerged. They measured long overall with a beam of and draught of . The crew numbered nine men.Roberts, p. 425
The Naïades were equipped with a variable-pitch propeller and two auxiliary side-thrusting propellers (). On the surface, the propeller shaft was driven by two dynamos powered either by the Panhard et Levassor four-cycle benzol engine designed to produce or the batteries used underwater. Speeds attained during the boats' sea trials reached up to from . Underwater power for the Naïades was provided by a Société Éclairage Électrique electric motor rated at and intended to give them a maximum speed of . Speeds during their sea trials were disappointing at only from . They were designed to have a range of at submerged and at on the surface. The Naïade class were armed with two external single torpedo launchers, one aimed forward and the other aft.Roberts, pp. 425–426
Construction and career Alose was ordered on 3 April 1901 and laid down on 17 November 1902 at the Arsenal de Toulon. The boat was launched on 13 October 1904 and commissioned on 31 July 1907. She was involved in several accidents, though none resulted in serious damage. In November 1906 she was struck by the steamer Mouette in Toulon Roads . In November 1910 she collided with sister ship Bonite, damaging both. Alose was stricken in May 1914Smigielski, p. 207 and was used as a target ship, being sunk off Fréjus in March 1918.Roberts, p. 427
In 1975 the wreck was discovered by French divers off Lion rock, near Saint-Raphaël, Var. She was raised and restored as a museum ship in May 1976, and now stands outside the offices of COMEX in Marseille. at sous-marins francais (archived page). Retrieved 25 February 2017.
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