 Z being towed, c. 1905
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Z |
| Operators |  French Navy |
| Preceded by | Naïade class |
| Succeeded by | Y |
| Built | 1902–1905 |
| In service | 1905–1909 |
| Completed | 1 |
| History | |
| Ordered | 10 June 1901 |
| Builder | Arsenal de Rochefort |
| Laid down | 16 August 1902 |
| Launched | 28 March 1904 |
| Completed | 1905? |
| Commissioned | 3 June 1904 (for trials) |
| Decommissioned | 1 March 1909 |
| Stricken | 9 March 1910 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap, 9 July 1911 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Submarine |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 42.03 m (137 ft 11 in) |
| Beam | 2.98 m (9 ft 9 in) |
| Draught | 2.82 m (9 ft 3 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 1 × variable-pitch propeller |
| Speed |
|
| Range |
|
| Complement | 16 men |
| Armament | 2 × 450 mm (17.7 in) bow torpedo tubes |
The French submarine Z was an experimental submarine built for the French Navy (Marine nationale) in the first decade of the 20th century. Designed by Gabriel Maugas, it was the first French submarine to be completed with a diesel engine and the only one with four sets of diving planes. It was commissioned for its sea trials in 1904, although its propulsion machinery was unreliable and it was never fit for service with the fleet. It may have been completed in 1905. An extensive refit for Z was planned in 1907, but this was cancelled as too expensive. Disposal of the submarine was first proposed the following year, although it was not stricken from the navy list until 1910. Z was sold for scrap in 1911.