French Navy Agosta class   With the loss of French Indochina in the early 50s long rang, which had been a primary requirement for the post war Narval class , became less important. On the other hand, the Daphne class had proved to be on the small side for French maritime commitments. Moreover since the Daphne designed there had been important new developments in submarine technology: the Albacore hull form revolutionized underwater performance, while modern torpedoes with sophisticated homing devices allied to computerized fire control made large salvos unnecessary, so fewer torpedo tubes were needed.   Specificationes, Agosta class: Attack submarine, diesel powered. Double-hull construction with all fuel and ballast tanks outside the pressure hull. Displacement (srf/sub tons): 1,490/1,740              Dimensions (L*B*D feet): 221`7*22`3*17`7 Propulsion: diesel-electric 2*1,800hp SEMT-Pielstick 16 PA4 V 185 VG diesels, 2*Jeumont-Schneider alternators 1,7MV, 1*4,600hp electric motor, 1*32hp cruising motor, 160type N battery cells,1 shaft Speed (srf/sub knots): 12/20 Range (srf/sub n/miles@knots): snorting 8,500@9/350@3.5 Diving depth (feet): 985 Complement: 7 officers 52 enlisted Missile: SM-39 Exocet sub-launched anti-ship missiles/Mc Donnell Douglas Sub Harpoon- forthe Pakistanis boats Torpedo: 4*21" (533 mm) bow torpedo tubes, total of 20 torpedoes or missiles Mines: in lieu of torpedoes Armament: none Construction: Four submarines were built for the French Marine National between 1977-78.  Four additional bouts were built in Spain with French technical assistance between 1977-85. Two Agostas were ordered by South Africa but United Nations embargo prevented these from being delivered, and they were re-sold, 1978, to Pakistan. Back to History Index   Image Country Year Description France Commissioning of the 4th Agosta class submarine in Brest, 3 July 1995, Brest Naval base France Agosta S-620, Agosta class, "last paint ceremony"- decommissoning, 28 February 1997, Brest Naval base