Le Flore (S645) Sub

The Flore (S 645) is a French Daphné-class submarine. Launched in 1960, it was in service from 1964 to 1989. Since 2010, it has been visited as a museum in Lorient. The submarine was named Flore on April 17, 19561. It was started at the Directorate of Naval Construction and Weapons (DCAN) in Cherbourg on June 19, 1958. It is the fifth in the series of high-performance submarines of Daphne type. It was launched on December 21, 1960 and was launched at sea on September 22, 1961. The submarine Flore was admitted to active service on May 21, 1964 and assigned to the 1st submarine squadron (ESM) in Toulon, its base port. His career took place mainly in the Mediterranean. He occasionally joins Lorient for periods of major refit. On July 12, 1995, the submarine Flore was put on dry land on the slipway of the Lorient submarine base. It will be temporarily sheltered from July 3, 1997 to April 9, 2000 in cell no. 1, taking into account the weather, strong winds could unbalance it. Then, the submarine was maintained by former volunteer submariners grouped within the MESMAT association (Museum of the Atlantic Submarine Squadron) which was created to support the transformation project. of the submarine in a naval museum.

French submarine Perle

Sister ship Diamant, date unknown

Perle was a Saphir-class submarine built for the French Navy in the mid-1930s. Laid down in 1931, she was launched in July 1935 and commissioned in March 1937. In November 1942, after Operation Torch, Perle joined the Allied fleet. While returning from refitting in the United States, Perle was mistaken for a U-boat by an aircraft from the British ship Empire MacCallum and sunk. 

German U-Boat U-168

Laid down in 1931, Perle was launched in July 1935 and commissioned in March 1937. In November 1942, after Operation Torch, Perle joined the Allied fleet and was assigned to Dakar. After taking part in several operations, Perle sailed to the United States for refitting. On 26 June 1944, it left port and, after stopping in Newfoundland, Perle set sail for the port of Dundee in Scotland to participate in operations off Norway. On 8 July, Perle was mistaken for a U-boat by an Allied Fairey Swordfish and sunk in position 55°27′N 30°50′WCoordinates: 55°27′N 30°50′W. Approximately 17 of the crew of 42 survived the sinking but only one was rescued. The crew killed aboard Perle were the last casualties among French submariners in World War II.