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French submarine Curie (P67)
Encyclopedia
The French submarine Curie was a British-built U class submarine
British U class submarine
The British U class submarines were a class of 49 small submarines built just before and during the Second World War...
, a member of the third group of that class to be built. Laid down as HMS Vox for the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
she was transferred to the Free French Naval Forces
Free French Naval Forces
Les Forces Navales Françaises Libres were the naval arm of the Free French Forces during the Second World War. They were commanded by Admiral Emile Muselier.- History :...
on the day she was commissioned, where she served as Sous-Marin Curie from 1943-46, but retaining her pennant number
Pennant number
In the modern Royal Navy, and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth, ships are identified by pennant numbers...
of P67. During her absence a later long hull U class
British V class submarine
The British V class submarine was a class of submarines built for the Royal Navy during World War II. 42 vessels were ordered to this design, all to be built by Vickers-Armstrong at either Barrow-in-Furness or at Walker-on-Tyne, but only 22 were completed...
submarine Pennant number 73 took the name Vox, serving in the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
during 1945 and being scrapped on 1 May 1946. When P67 returned to the Royal Navy in July 1946 she re-assumed the name Vox, thus replacing her replacement.
Service
Curie was handed over to the Free French Naval Forces on 2 May 1943, at a ceremony at Vickers' works in BarrowBarrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
, north west England. General de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
was present at the occasion, when RN sailors and Vickers workers saluted the raising of the Cross of Lorraine
Cross of Lorraine
The Cross of Lorraine is originally a heraldic cross. The two-barred cross consists of a vertical line crossed by two smaller horizontal bars. In the ancient version, both bars were of the same length. In 20th century use it is "graded" with the upper bar being the shortest...
. She was named after the earlier French submarine Curie, which saw action in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
After a working up period (during which her screws were damaged on 21 May 1943), her first patrol was to the Norwegian coast in June-July 1943. Up to 3 August 1943, when Free French Naval Forces amalgamated with those from French North Africa, she had been on patrol for 60 days and spent 192 hours submerged.
On the night of 21 June 1944 she bombarded construction sites for shore batteries at Cap Gros on the Mediterranean coast, and observed several hits. Several weeks later she was working with a British flotilla
Flotilla
A flotilla , or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class of warship, such as frigates, destroyers, torpedo boats, submarines, gunboats, or minesweepers...
in the Dodecanese
Dodecanese
The Dodecanese are a group of 12 larger plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, of which 26 are inhabited. Τhis island group generally defines the eastern limit of the Sea of Crete. They belong to the Southern Sporades island group...
, sinking a cargo ship on 3 August. On 2 October in the same area she sank the merchant ships Czar Ferdinand and Brunhild (the former French wine-tanker Bacchus).
In 1945 Curie relocated from Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
to Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
in France, subsequently moving for a refit to Lorient
Lorient
Lorient, or L'Orient, is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-History:At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis...
where she stayed until March 1946. She was then on detached duty to a detection school at Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
and returned to the Royal Navy in July 1946 where she regained the name HMS Vox.
Insignia
The badge of HMS Vox is a hornHorn (anatomy)
A horn is a pointed projection of the skin on the head of various animals, consisting of a covering of horn surrounding a core of living bone. True horns are found mainly among the ruminant artiodactyls, in the families Antilocapridae and Bovidae...
or cornucopia
Cornucopia
The cornucopia or horn of plenty is a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers, nuts, other edibles, or wealth in some form...
surmounted by a trident
Trident
A trident , also called a trishul or leister or gig, is a three-pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and was also a military weapon. Tridents are featured widely in mythical, historical and modern culture. The major Hindu god, Shiva the Destroyer and the sea god Poseidon or Neptune are...
. That of Curie was of similar pattern as Royal Navy badges. The badge shows a stag's head and the inscription "Pola 1914", recalling the World War I exploit when the first Curie was lost.. The ship's mascot was a terrier
Terrier
A terrier is a dog of any one of many breeds or landraces of terrier type, which are typically small, wiry, very active and fearless dogs. Terrier breeds vary greatly in size from just a couple of pounds to over 70 pounds and are usually categorized by size or function...
named Radium.