Editing French submarine Surcouf (section)

== Career==

===Early career===

Soon after ''Surcouf'' was launched, the [[London Naval Treaty]] finally placed restrictions on submarine designs. Among other things, each signatory (France included) was permitted to possess no more than three large submarines, each not exceeding {{convert|2800|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} standard displacement, with guns not exceeding {{convert|6.1|in|mm|abbr=on}} in caliber. ''Surcouf'', which would have exceeded these limits, was specially exempt from the rules at the insistence of Navy Minister [[Georges Leygues]],<ref name=Netmarine-Main>[http://netmarine.net/g/bat/surcouf/index.htm Croiseur sous-marin ''Surcouf''], netmarine</ref> but other 'big-gun' submarines of this boat's class could no longer be built.

===Second World War===
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict=Seizure of ''Surcouf''
| partof=[[World War II]]
| date= 3 July 1940 
| place= [[Plymouth]], [[England]], United Kingdom
| result= British capture of ''Surcouf''
| combatant1= {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} United Kingdom
| combatant2= {{flagicon|France}} France
| commander1= 
| commander2= 
| casualties1= 3 killed
| casualties2= 1 killed
}}

In 1940, ''Surcouf'' was based in [[Cherbourg-Octeville|Cherbourg]], but in May, when the Germans invaded, she was being refitted in [[Brest, France|Brest]] following a mission in the [[Antilles]] and [[Gulf of Guinea]]. Under command of Frigate Captain Martin, unable to dive and with only one engine functioning and a jammed rudder, she limped across the [[English Channel]] and sought refuge in [[Plymouth]].

On 3 July, the British, concerned that the French Fleet would be taken over by the German ''[[Kriegsmarine]]'' at the French armistice, executed [[Attack on Mers-el-Kébir#Operation Catapult|Operation Catapult]]. The [[Royal Navy]] blockaded the harbours where French warships were anchored, and delivered an ultimatum: rejoin the fight against Germany, be put out of reach of the Germans, or scuttle. Few accepted willingly; the North African fleet at [[Mers-el-Kebir]] and the [[Battle of Dakar#Background|ships based at Dakar]] (French West Africa) refused.  The French battleships in North Africa were eventually attacked and all but one sunk at their moorings by the [[Mediterranean Fleet]].

French ships lying at ports in Britain and Canada were also boarded by armed marines, sailors and soldiers, but the only serious incident took place at [[Plymouth]] aboard ''Surcouf'' on 3 July, when two Royal Navy submarine officers, [[Commander]] Denis 'Lofty' Sprague, captain of {{HMS|Thames|N71|6}}, and [[Lieutenant]] Patrick Griffiths of {{HMS|Rorqual|N74|6}},<ref name="Phoenix paperback">{{cite book|last1=Smith|first1=Colin|title=England's last war against France: Fighting Vichy 1940–42|date=24 June 2010|publisher=Phoenix |edition=paperback|isbn=978-0-7538-2705-5|at=Chapter 4}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://www.naval-history.net/xDKCas1940-07JUL.htm |title=1st – 31st July 1940 |work=Casualty Lists of the Royal Navy and Dominion Navies, World War 2 |first=Don |last=Kindell |date= 12 June 2011 |editor= Gordon Smith}}</ref> and French warrant officer mechanic Yves Daniel<ref name=Netmarine-Histoire>{{citation |url=http://netmarine.net/g/bat/surcouf/histoire.htm |title=Histoire du sous-marin ''Surcouf'' |publisher=netmarine |language=fr}}</ref> were fatally wounded, and a British seaman, Albert Webb,<ref name="Phoenix paperback"/> was shot dead by the submarine's doctor.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=David |last2=Till |first2=Geoffrey |year=2004 |title=The Road to Oran: Anglo-French Naval Relations, September 1939 – July 1940 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=0-7146-5461-2 |page=182}}</ref>

===Free French Naval Forces===
By August 1940, the British completed ''Surcouf''{{'}}s refit and turned her over to the [[Free French Naval Forces]] (''Forces Navales Françaises Libres'', FNFL) for convoy patrol. The only officer not repatriated from the original crew, Frigate Captain Georges Louis Blaison, became the new commanding officer. Because of Anglo-French tensions with regard to the submarine, accusations were made by each side that the other was spying for [[Vichy France]]; the British also claimed ''Surcouf'' was attacking British ships. Later, a British officer and two sailors were put aboard for "liaison" purposes. One real drawback was she required a crew of 110–130 men, which represented three crews of more conventional submarines. This led to Royal Navy reluctance to recommission her.

''Surcouf'' then went to the Canadian base at [[City of Halifax|Halifax]], [[Nova Scotia]] and escorted trans-Atlantic convoys. In April 1941, she was damaged by a German plane at Devonport.<ref name=Netmarine-Histoire/>

On 28 July, ''Surcouf'' went to the [[Portsmouth Naval Shipyard|United States Naval Shipyard]] at Kittery, Maine for a three-month refit.<ref name =Netmarine-Main/>

After leaving the shipyard, ''Surcouf'' went to [[New London, Connecticut]], perhaps to receive additional training for her crew.  ''Surcouf'' left New London on 27 November to return to Halifax.

===Capture of St. Pierre and Miquelon===
{{main|Capture of Saint Pierre and Miquelon}}
[[File:St-pierre-et-miquelon-stamp-1961-(Surcouf-submarine).png|thumb|French postage stamp celebrating the "capture" of Saint Pierre and Miquelon (1961).]]
In December 1941, ''Surcouf'' carried the Free French Admiral [[Émile Muselier]] to Canada, putting into [[Quebec City]]. While the Admiral was in [[Ottawa]], conferring with the Canadian government, ''Surcouf''{{'}}s captain was approached by ''[[The New York Times]]'' reporter [[Ira Wolfert]] and questioned about the rumours the submarine would liberate [[Saint-Pierre and Miquelon]] for Free France. Wolfert accompanied the submarine to Halifax, where, on 20 December, they joined Free French [[List of escorteurs of the French Navy|"Escorteurs"]] [[corvette]]s ''Mimosa'', {{Ship|French corvette|Aconit||2}}, and {{Ship|French corvette|Alysse||2}}, and on 24 December, [[Capture of Saint Pierre and Miquelon|took control]] of the islands for Free France without resistance.

[[United States Secretary of State]] [[Cordell Hull]] had just concluded an agreement with the Vichy government guaranteeing the neutrality of French possessions in the Western hemisphere, and he threatened to resign unless President of the United States [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] demanded a restoration of the status quo. Roosevelt did so, but when [[Charles de Gaulle]] refused, Roosevelt dropped the matter. Ira Wolfert's stories – very favourable to the Free French (and bearing no sign of kidnapping or other duress) – helped swing American popular opinion away from Vichy. The Axis Powers' [[Axis powers#Germany.27s and Italy.27s declaration of war against the United States|declaration of war on the United States]] in December 1941 negated the agreement, but the U.S. did not sever diplomatic ties with the Vichy Government until November 1942.

===Later operations===
In January 1942, the Free French leadership decided to send ''Surcouf'' to the [[Pacific War|Pacific theatre]], after she had been re-supplied at the [[Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda|Royal Naval Dockyard]] in [[Bermuda]]. However, her movement south triggered rumours that ''Surcouf'' was going to liberate [[Martinique]] from the Vichy regime.

In fact, ''Surcouf'' was bound for [[Sydney]], Australia, via Tahiti.<ref name=Netmarine-Main/> She departed Halifax on 2 February for Bermuda, which she left on 12 February, bound for the [[Panama Canal]].<ref name=Netmarine-Histoire/>

===Fate===
[[File:Free French Memorial, Greenock, west plaque & wreath.jpg|thumb|The Free French Memorial on [[Lyle Hill]], [[Greenock]]: ''À la mémoire du Capitaine de frégate Blaison, des officiers et de l'équipage du sous-marin Surcouf perdu dans l'Atlantique Février 1942'' ("To the memory of Frigate Captain Blaison, the officers[,] and the crew of the submarine Surcouf[,] lost in the Atlantic February 1942").]]
''Surcouf'' vanished on the night of 18/19 February 1942, about {{convert|130|km|nmi|abbr=on}} north of [[Cristóbal, Colón|Cristóbal, Panama]], while ''en route'' for [[Tahiti]], ''via'' the [[Panama Canal]]. An American report concluded the disappearance was due to an accidental collision with the American freighter {{SS|Thompson Lykes||2}}.  Steaming alone from [[Guantánamo Bay|Guantanamo Bay]] on what was a very dark night, the freighter reported hitting and running down a partially submerged object which scraped along her side and keel. Her lookouts heard people in the water but, thinking she had hit a U-boat, the freighter did not stop although cries for help were heard in English. A signal was sent to Panama describing the incident.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Morison |first1=Samuel Eliot |last2=Till |first2=Geoffrey |year=2001 |title=History of United States Naval Operations in World War II: The Rising Sun in the Pacific, 1931 – April 1942 |publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]] |isbn=0-252-06963-3 |page=265}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Kelshall |first1=Gaylord |last2=Till |first2=Geoffrey |year=1994 |title=The U-Boat War in the Caribbean |location=Annapolis, MD |publisher=[[United States Naval Institute|Naval Institute Press]] |isbn=1-55750-452-0 |page=68}}</ref>

The loss resulted in 130 deaths (including 4 Royal Navy personnel), under the command of Frigate Captain Georges Louis Nicolas Blaison.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Blaison Georges Louis Nicolas |url=https://memorial-national-des-marins.fr/b/7246-blaison-georges-louis-nicolas |access-date=2024-06-24 |website=memorial-national-des-marins.fr}}</ref> The loss of ''Surcouf'' was announced by the Free French Headquarters in London on 18 April 1942, and was reported in ''The New York Times'' the next day.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40F1EFE3E5E167B93CBA8178FD85F468485F9 |title=Free French List Surcouf as Lost |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |page=36 |date=19 April 1942 |access-date=5 July 2013}}</ref> It was not reported ''Surcouf'' was sunk as the result of a collision with the ''Thompson Lykes'' until January 1945.<ref>The New York Times.  29 January 1945.</ref>

The investigation of the French commission concluded the disappearance was the consequence of misunderstanding. A [[Consolidated PBY Catalina|Consolidated PBY]], patrolling the same waters on the night of 18/19 February, could have attacked ''Surcouf'' believing her to be German or Japanese. 

Inquiries into the incident were haphazard and late, while a later French inquiry supported the idea that the sinking had been due to "friendly fire"; this conclusion was supported by Rear Admiral [[Gabriel Auphan]] in his book ''The French Navy in World War II''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Auphan |first1=Paul |last2=Mordal |first2=Jacques |author-link2=Jacques Mordal |year=1959 |title=The French Navy in World War II |location=Annapolis, MD |publisher=[[United States Naval Institute|Naval Institute Press]] }}{{page needed|date=July 2013}}</ref> Charles de Gaulle stated in his memoirs<ref>{{cite book |last=de Gaulle |first=Charles |author-link=Charles de Gaulle |editor-last=Mordal |editor-first=Jaques |editor-link=Jacques Mordal |year=1955 |title=The War Memoirs of Charles de Gaulle, Vol. 1 The Call To Honour 1940–1942 |publisher=Viking Press }}{{page needed|date=July 2013}}</ref> that ''Surcouf'' "had sunk with all hands".

===Legacy===
{{location map|Caribbean|lat_deg=10.67|lon_deg=-79.53|relief=1|caption=Possible site of the ''Surcouf''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s sinking, if she collided with the ''Thompson Lykes''.|align=left}}
As no one has officially dived or verified the wreck of ''Surcouf'', her location is unknown. If one assumes the ''Thompson Lykes'' incident was indeed the event of ''Surcouf's'' sinking, then the wreck would lie {{convert|3000|m|ft|abbr=on}} deep at {{coord|10|40|N|79|32|W|display=inline,title}}.<ref name=Netmarine-Main/>

A monument commemorates the loss in the port of [[Cherbourg]] in Normandy, France.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ahoy.tk-jk.net/macslog/FrenchSubmarineSurcoufthe.html|title=Ahoy - Mac's Web Log - French Submarine Surcouf, the World's largest Submarine before WW2. Her mysterious disappearance in February of 1942}}</ref> The loss is also commemorated by the Free French Memorial on [[Lyle Hill]] in Greenock, Scotland.<ref name="Inverclyde War Memorials">{{cite web | title=War Memorials | website=Inverclyde Council | url=https://www.inverclyde.gov.uk/community-life-and-leisure/heritage-services/watt-library/family-history/war-memorials | quote=A la memoire du Capitaine de frigate Blaison, des officiers et de l'equipage du sous-marin Surcouf perdu dans l'Atlantique Fevrier 1942 | access-date=18 February 2020 | archive-date=7 April 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407024748/https://www.inverclyde.gov.uk/community-life-and-leisure/heritage-services/watt-library/family-history/war-memorials | url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:Scale model of Surcouf-MnM 31 MG 16-IMG 6248-white.jpg|thumb|Model of ''Surcouf'' in Paris.]]
As there is no conclusive confirmation that ''Thompson Lykes'' collided with ''Surcouf'', and her wreck has yet to be discovered, there are alternative stories of her fate. [[James Rusbridger]] examined some of these theories in his book ''Who Sank Surcouf?'', finding them all easily dismissible except one: the records of the [[6th Operations Group|6th Heavy Bomber Group]] operating out of Panama show them sinking a large submarine the morning of 19 February. Since no German submarine was lost in the area on that date, she could have been ''Surcouf''. He suggested the collision had damaged ''Surcouf''{{'}}s radio and the stricken boat limped towards Panama hoping for the best.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rusbridger |first=James |author-link=James Rusbridger |title=Who Sank the "Surcouf"?: The Truth About the Disappearance of the Pride of the French Navy |year=1991 |publisher=Ebury Press |isbn=0-7126-3975-6 }}{{page needed|date=July 2013}}</ref>

A conspiracy theory, based on no significant evidence, held that the ''Surcouf'', during her stationing at New London in late 1941, had been caught treacherously supplying a German U-boat in Long Island Sound, pursued by the American training subs ''[[USS Marlin (SS-205)|Marlin]]'' and ''[[USS Mackerel (SS-204)|Mackerel]]'' out of New London, and sunk. The rumor circulated into the early 21st century, but is false since the ''Surcouf''{{'}}s later movements south are well documented.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theday.com/article/20161120/NWS01/161129931 |title=French sub's visit to New London launched conspiracy theory |author=John Ruddy  |date=November 20, 2016 |work=The [New London] Day |accessdate=March 9, 2021}}</ref>

===In popular media===
The ''Surcouf'' is the subject of an underwater search by the fictional organization ''NUMA'' and international terrorists in the [[Clive Cussler]] novel "The Corsican Shadow", published in 2023. Cussler and his co-writer, Dirk Cussler, writes the ''Surcouf''{{'}}s wreck was discovered "...some eighty miles off the Panama coast." The sinking is even attributed to ''Surcouf''{{'}}s radio antenna being damaged in the collision with the ''Thompson Lykes'', and then finished off by the reported attack of an A-17 bomber the next morning.

[[Douglas Reeman]] wrote "Strike from the Sea", a novel published in 1978, about a French cruiser submarine named "Soufriere", modeled on the Surcouf.