The French Surcouf

[kiwi_2005]

So you requested for a Deckgun? Here ya go!


Some of the French boats were not to bad, The Rubis was the most active and successful minelaying submarine of WW2 (sunk 14merchants & 8 small warships).

How did the Surcouf really go down, ive read 2 different theories so far this one is from the book Submarines of WW2 by John Ward. He says:

An experimental submarine of a type that was unlikey to be repeated Surcouf was designed for long-range commerce raiding, being described as a "Corsair submarine by the French Admiralty. The heaviest submarine in the world at the ourbreak of WWII, She carried the largest calibre of guns permitted to be mounted on submarines under the terms of the Washington Treaty; they were identical to those mounted on heavy cruisers, and were mounted in a watertight turret. They had a maximum theoretical range of 27,450m (30,000yd) at a 30-degree elevation, although this was reduced to 12,000m (13,000yd) in practice by there limitations of the rangefinder. The guns could be ready to fire in two minutes after surfacing.
In July 1940, having sought refuge in Plymouth, Surcouf was seized by the British. She later served with the Free French Naval Forces, carrying out patrols in the Atlantic andf taking part in the capture of the islands of St Pierre and Miquelon off Newfoundland, which were opposed to General de Gaulle's French govenment in exile.
Surcouf was lost on 18 Feb 1942, in an ignominious collision with the US merchant ship Thomson Lykes in the Gulf of Mexico.

Another claims: It is alleged that the Surcouf was sunk by the American submarines Marlin and Mackerel in Long Island Sound. There is a report that Surcouf was tailed by the 2 subs from Bermuda and probably circled back to St. Pierre. There are rumours that Surcouf had a great deal of the gold from the French Treasury in her large compartment.
It is also alleged that Surcouf was found and boarded in Long Island Sound in the sixties by Jacque Cousteau and hushed up.
I have misplaced my research notes so I am writing this from memory. I will update these facts as I research and receive information. I started to write a screenplay about Surcouf and spent about 10 years researching.I first heard of Surcouf from my father Harold LeDrew who was a marine machinist during the war. He remembered a sailor telling him that a french sub. The Surcouf was sinking our own ships. Gary LeDrew - http://groups.msn.com/Surcouf/thestory.msnw

ON another note this sub would be cool to hunt down in SH3.