Vendémiaire was a Pluviôse-class submarine built for the French Navy (Marine Nationale) in the late 1900s. She was sunk with all hands when she was rammed by the pre-dreadnought battleship Saint Louis on 8 June 1912 while on maneuvers off the Casquets in the English Channel.

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Vendémiaire raising steam on the surface
History
France
Name	Vendémiaire
Namesake	Vendémiaire
Builder	Arsenal de Cherbourg
Laid down	1906
Launched	7 July 1910
Commissioned	4 February 1911
Fate	Sunk in collision 8 June 1912
General characteristics (as built)
Type	Submarine
Displacement	404 t (398 long tons) (surfaced) 553 t (544 long tons) (submerged)
Length	51.12 m (167 ft 9 in) (o/a)
Beam	4.96 m (16 ft 3 in)
Draft	3.15 m (10 ft 4 in)
Installed power	700 PS (510 kW; 690 bhp) (steam) 2 × du Temple boilers 460 PS (340 kW; 450 bhp) (electric motors)
Propulsion	2 × shafts; 2 × triple-expansion steam engines 2 × electric motors
Speed	12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) (surfaced) 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) (submerged)
Range	1,000 nmi (1,900 km; 1,200 mi) at 8.5 knots (15.7 km/h; 9.8 mph) (surfaced) 27 nmi (50 km; 31 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) (submerged)
Complement	2 officers and 23 crewmen
Armament	1 × 450 mm (17.7 in) bow torpedo tube (first 6 boats only) 6 × external 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo launchers (4 × fixed, 2 × Drzewiecki drop collars)

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The Pluviôse class were built as part of the French Navy's 1905 building program to a double-hull design by Maxime Laubeuf.^[1] The submarines displaced 404 metric tons (398 long tons) surfaced and 553 metric tons (544 long tons) submerged. They had an overall length of 51.12 meters (167 ft 9 in), a beam of 4.96 meters (16 ft 3 in), and a draft of 3.15 meters (10 ft 4 in). Their crew numbered 2 officers and 23 enlisted men.^[2]

For surface running, the boats were powered by two 350-metric-horsepower (345 bhp; 257 kW) triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam provided by two Du Temple boilers. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 230-metric-horsepower (227 bhp; 169 kW) electric motor.^[3] On the surface they were designed to reach a maximum speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) and 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) underwater.^[1] The submarines had a surface endurance of 865 nautical miles (1,602 km; 995 mi) at 11.6 knots (21.5 km/h; 13.3 mph) and a submerged endurance of 70 nmi (130 km; 81 mi) at 2.8 knots (5.2 km/h; 3.2 mph).^[4]

The first six boats completed were armed with a single 450-millimeter (17.7 in) internal bow torpedo tube; Vendémiare had one fitted in early 1910 while she was still under construction. All of the boats were fitted with six 450 mm external torpedo launchers; the pair firing forward were fixed outwards at an angle of seven degrees and the rear pair had an angle of five degrees. Following a ministerial order on 22 February 1910, the aft tubes were reversed so they too fired forward, but at an angle of eight degrees. The other launchers were a rotating pair of Drzewiecki drop collars in a single mount positioned on top of the hull at the stern. They could traverse 150 degrees to each side of the boat. The Pluviôse-class submarines carried eight torpedoes.^[5]

Vendémiaire, named after the first month of the French Republican calendar, was ordered on 26 August 1905 from the Arsenal de Cherbourg. The submarine was laid down in 1906, launched on 7 July 1910 and commissioned on 4 February 1911.^[6]

Vendémiaire sank with the loss of her entire crew of 24 on 8 June 1912 after colliding with the battleship Saint Louis in the English Channel off the Casquets during maneuvers.^[7][8]