WThe Requin-class submarines were a class of nine diesel-electric attack submarines built for the French Navy in the mid-1920s. Most saw action during World War II for the Vichy French Navy or the Free French Naval Forces. Nine ships of this type were built in the shipyards of Brest, Cherbourg and Toulon between 1923 and 1928. The class was part of the French Marine Nationale, serving in the Mediterranean Sea. All member ships took part in World War II, fighting on both sides of the conflict; Four were captured by Italian forces and sunk by the Allies. Only one ship survived the war - Marsouin, decommissioned shortly after the war's end.
WThe French submarine Caïman was a Requin-class submarine built for the French Navy in the mid-1920s. Laid down in August 1924, it was launched in March 1927 and commissioned in February 1928. On 9 June, Caïman narrowly missed the British light cruiser HMS Ajax off Syria. It was scuttled at Toulon on 27 November 1942 to prevent her capture by the Germans, then raised in February 1943. It was sunk again on 11 March 1944 by Allied aircraft.
WThe French submarine Dauphin was a Reqin -class submarine built for the French Navy in the mid-1920s. Laid down in December 1922, it was launched in April 1925 and commissioned in November 1927. It was captured by Italian forces on 8 December 1942 and renamed FR 115. It was later recaptured by the Germans on 9 September 1943, then scuttled on 15 September 1943. The name Dauphin comes from the French word for Dolphin.
WThe French submarine Espadon was a Requin-class submarine built for the French Navy in the mid-1920s. Laid down in October 1923, it was launched in May 1926 and commissioned in December 1927. It was disarmed at Bizerte, Tunisia in April 1941 and captured there by Italian forces on 8 December 1942 and renamed FR 114. It was scuttled by the Italians at the Castellamare shipyard on 13 September 1943, then raised by the Germans in 1943 but not repaired.
WThe French submarine Marsouin was a Requin-class submarine built for the French Navy in the mid-1920s. Laid down in November 1922, it was launched in December 1924 and commissioned in September 1927. It escaped from Toulon on 27 November 1942 and joined the Free French Naval Forces; it was later disarmed at Oran in April 1944, and stricken on 28 February 1946.
WThe French submarine Morse was a Requin-class submarine built for the French Navy in the mid-1920s. Laid down in February 1923, it was launched in May 1925 and commissioned in February 1928. On 16 June 1940, Morse, under the command of Jean Georges Charles Paris, struck a mine and sank in the same minefield off the Kerkennah Islands that sank her sister ship Narval six months later.
WThe French submarine Narval was a Requin-class submarine built for the French Navy in the mid-1920s. Laid down in March 1923, it was launched in May 1925 and commissioned in July 1926. It joined the Free French naval forces at Malta at the time of the French surrender during World War II. On or around 15 December 1940, Narval sank after striking a mine in the same minefield off the Kerkennah Islands that sank her sister ship Morse six months prior.
WPhoque was a Requin-class submarine built for the French Navy in the mid-1920s. Laid down in May 1924, it was launched in March 1926 and commissioned in May 1928. In April 1941, it was disarmed at Bizerte, Tunisia and captured there by the Italians on 8 December 1942 and renamed FR 111. It was sunk on 28 February 1943 10 miles off Murro di Porco, Sicily by Allied aircraft.
WThe French submarine Requin was the lead ship of the Requin-class submarines built for the French Navy in the mid-1920s. Laid down in June 1922, it was launched in July 1924 and commissioned in May 1926. It was captured by Italian forces at Bizerte, Tunisia on 8 December 1942 and renamed FR 113. On 9 September 1943, it was recaptured by German forces. It was sold for scrap in Genes, Italy in 1944.
WThe French submarine Souffleur was a Requin-class submarine built for the French Navy in the mid-1920s. Laid down in October 1922, it was launched two years later and commissioned in August 1926. Souffleur was torpedoed and sunk on 25 June 1941 off Beyrut, Lebanon in position 33°49′N 35°26′E by the British submarine HMS Parthian.