Quite interesting history here… (involving also the famous Von Trapp from "The Sound of Music" movie)
"Two spectacular cases of submarines penetrating enemy anchorages are well known to naval-history enthusiasts. The first was when the Royal Navy's E14, commanded by Lieutenant Commander Edward Boyle VC, surfaced in the Golden Horn, in the heart of Istanbul, in May 1915. This followed penetration of the heavily-mined Dardanelles, and was part of a successful campaign against Turkish shipping. The second instance was when Germany's U-47, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Gunter Prien, found her way through the defences of the Royal Navy's protected anchorage at Scapa Flow in 1939 and sank the battleship Royal Oak at anchor there.
A third equally daring action is this type deserves to be better known and though it ended in tragedy it involved courage and skill of a very high order. It was also to be the prelude to an amazing – and unlikely – second career for the submarine involved. The story also links two decent and heroic men who, in other circumstances, might well have valued each other as friends.
The submarine was a combat-unproven weapon at the outbreak of war in 1914, but several major navies, including that of France as well of those of Britain, Germany and the United States, had invested heavily in such vessels in the previous decade. Extensive testing and evaluation of operational procedures had been undertaken and a number of second-rank navies were rapidly following suit. Alternative design approaches were still being investigated and French development followed a somewhat different track than other navies. This was epitomised by the large number – 34 in total – of generally similar Brumaire-class and Pluviôse-class boats designed by Maxime Laubeuf. Though all had electrical underwater-propulsion, several of the earlier-constructed units were powered on the surface by steam – which slowed diving and proved impractical operationally. (The French experience was not taken to heart by the Royal Navy, which later committed heavily to its own disastrous K-class). Later Brumaire/ Pluviôse boats had diesel power for surface running…"
Full article here
link
Amicalement
Armand