French submarine Calypso (1907)

Calypso was one of two Circé-class submarines built for the French Navy (Marine Nationale) in the first decade of the 20th century.

Design and description
The Circé class were built as part of the French Navy's 1904 building program to a double-hull design by Maxime Laubeuf. The submarines displaced 361 t surfaced and 498 t submerged. They had an overall length of 47.13 m, a beam of 4.9 m, and a draft of 3.24 m. Their crew numbered 2 officers and 20 enlisted men.

For surface running, the boats were powered by two German MAN 315 PS diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 180 PS electric motor. During her surfaced sea trials on 19 February 1909, Calypso reached a maximum speed of 11.9 kn from 968 PS; during her submerged trials on 27 July she reached 7.3 kn from 390 PS. The Circé class had a surface endurance of 2000 nmi at 7.3 kn and a submerged endurance of 76 nmi at 4 kn.

Construction and career
The Circé-class submarines were ordered on 8 October 1904. Calypso was laid down in 1905 at the Arsenal de Toulon, launched on 24 October 1907 and commissioned on 5 August 1909.