Such strong fires no longer occurred, but have “dipped” the performance of the submarine. Instead of 12 knots under water “Gustave “, Sade” developed not more than 6.5; surface course was slightly better, but still far from the design data (9.5 per node instead of 15). Has been more than halved and the range was calculated at an impressive 175 miles (on the surface), and received a total of 85. Interestingly, this is just enough for the trip from Toulon to Marseille and back: the boat really could cover both the main port of the southern coast of France, that is, for the first time was a serious combat tool. She demonstrated it on a Navy test in 1898, after the torpedo attack, not only stationary targets, but going 9-node speed of the battleship. And after three years in the course of manoeuvres “Gustave Zede” has absolutely unexpectedly for the “enemy” that nobody warned penetrated into his Parking space at the base of Ajaccio in Corsica and quietly released a training torpedo in the side of the battleship “Charles Martel”. Noise this attack has done a lot: in all the countries realized that the most powerful ships were really dangerous opponent, which can not be ignored.
However, and to overestimate “Gustave, Side” not worth it. After commissioning the boat “brought” for four long years, only then it really started naval service. About it is far from the design parameters we have already said, and the disadvantages of not exhausted. The submarine, like all its predecessors, is very poorly kept deep, moving not horizontally, and “sine”. Moreover, the amplitude of this “sine wave” reached half of the maximum depth of a dive! Partially managed to overcome the unpleasant phenomenon through the installation of three pairs of horizontal rudders instead of the original one. Pretty balky and delicate navigation and surveillance equipment. “Gustave, Seda” as “Imnot”, and had the magnetic and gyroscopic compasses, however, despite the seemingly non-magnetic bronze body, periodically refused both. The reason of such behavior of a magnetic “tool” is clear: to completely remove all iron and steel elements of a construction was not possible. And the gyros were still experiencing the “nursery period”, although the device on the boat even connected to mechanical tablet for automated plotting.
I did not quite meet expectations and periscope: despite a fair size (36 cm in diameter), the mirror gave a dim and distorted image, so the boat had to surface periodically even when attacking. This is the picture you were watching the British attache in educational output “Gustave Zede” battleship “Magenta”, when the submarine was twice podplyvaet after the initial discovery. It is clear that in combat she would hardly be able to bring the case to the end. Not match the capabilities of submarines and the formidable statement of her commander that she would be able to stop a whole enemy fleet. The boat had only one torpedo, although quite modern, built-in shell in the nose, replacing the previously used outer designs “a La Drzewiecki”. Spare torpedoes were available, but recharging apparatus at turtle underwater speed is unlikely to consistently attack at least two targets, if they moved even a small move. What to say about such things as inconvenience to the members of the team in the “outputs at will” on the surface. The boat still had only a narrow low add-on and slightly grown in height (1.5 m), but still a tiny cabin. Had to sit on a specially designed rack with shelves, about how the hens on the roost.
The submarine “Walrus” Gus yuna Ramazzotti
Cherbourg. Submarine “Algerian”, Ramazzotti
Submarine “Corrigan” engineer Moga, France, 1902
Anyway, “Gustave, Seda” served a total of 15 years, of which 2/3 of the time – the fleet, having made nearly two and a half thousand dives. A solid result, with no significant accidents (with the exception of the great fire of batteries). It is clear that the continued development of the project here was just asking for it. Nowadays, the process is not delayed: when the design is created in compliance with the covenants of his older companion was still on the stocks, he proposed the project several more moderate than the future “Gustave Zede”. However, the Naval Ministry was willing to wait for the results of tests of a large boat. Since the latter is considerably delayed, Ramazzotti had to wait six long years, from 1891 to 1897, to begin implementation of the project. Of course, this “exposure” does not add positive qualities to his submarine, dubbed “Le Morse”. (Le Morse means “Walrus”), According to the spirit and design of the submarine Ramazzotti almost completely repeated “Gustave Zede”, although he was a half times less. Came into operation it’s already in the XX century, and left the Navy almost simultaneously with his “senior companion”. By the time the design of it is already somewhat outdated and not like it seemed promising, but held in the end of 1896 Fastsky famous incident when two future main ally in the Entente, France and Britain nearly went to war with each other, returned to actuality the creation of Ramazzotti. The French urgently began to raise money by popular subscription, but you need half a million francs and odd managed to get not so fast. Only in 1901, when the threat of war seems to have passed, laid a couple of pieces, this time closer to the “arrogant England”, in Cherbourg. On the bronze trim was not enough money, and its use as anti-magnetic measures are not justified, so the “français” and “Algerien” (quite presciently named after the main inhabitants of France a century later) made of steel. Saved and torpedo tube in the hull, setting the lighter, but less convenient external devices Drzewiecki system, but in the amount of four pieces. Both boats served until the outbreak of the First world war, for which they are already outdated.
In addition to “emergency”, “French” and “Algerian”, at the same time was built and a “regular” naval variant, generally similar to “Les Morse”. Designed it is not a “southerner” Ramazzotti, a naval engineer Moga. We cannot say that much has improved: although “Dwarf”, “Farhada”, “Corrigan” and “Lutin” (nicknames of all small home fabulous animals, from a dwarf to a house) was finally refined and more or less workable periscope and drop the keel completely monstrous weight, more than one third of displacement! This “rehypothecation”, among other things, did not help, but made matters worse: half of these boats are at the bottom, as the team did not have time to “give the keel.” “Farhada” and Lutan” raised, the first even, just in case, renamed “fall,” but the trust, tend to “suicide” submarines and could not be found. Write them off for scrap even earlier ancestors. Not the last role is played absolutely disastrous performance: “gnomes” could not develop under water for more than 4.5 knots instead of the planned eight. Hardly better was the case with the surface course, which amounted to 8 knots. And this at a time when any warship without problems speeds at least twice as large.
However, Moga has made another attempt, already creating a more “their” boat with a strange name “Z”. She had a single motor, and the main feature was the speed of immersion, which formed just a few seconds – a great result today. But paid for this quality the price was fatal: on the surface “the last letter of the alphabet” had a tiny reserve of buoyancy, only 3% of the displacement. Hence it is clear that immersion was able to quickly compensate for a small amount of water. However, this trick looked almost fatal, it was enough to take in ballast tank a little bit more water than necessary, and the boat is literally a stone off the bottom. More than was modest and performance. So speed was just over 8 knots and 4.5 knots on the surface and under water, respectively. So, in General, a good thing – electric submarine – was completely Compromis-based, mainly because of its unreliable and heavy “electricians”. And “Z” was indeed the last French boat with a single engine in the face of the motor. More such submarines in “beautiful France” is not built and is not designed, and the “last letter” was sent into retirement just five years after the entry into operation, and the entire five-year period took various experiments, in particular, the comparison with the new submarines with a combined power plant. For the latter, no doubt, remained the future, but the “electric Frenchmen” to become just another step in history.
The idea behind the project was never built submarine “Ero” physicist Marie-Davy, to supply its electric motor, it seemed very attractive. Indeed, what could be better than a virtually silent motor which does not require any precious air and not enough fuel. However, as already mentioned, the Professor is too ahead of its time. The full rechargeable battery in the mid-nineteenth century was not, and the boat “on batteries” (battery cells) could be just the gas-guzzling toy. The possible range of such underwater “Electroapparat” was limited to a few kilometers, and to replenish the supply of energy in disposable elements was impossible.