View source for French submarine Sfax

{{otherships|French ship Sfax}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin |infobox caption=nodab}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Sous marin Ajax.jpg
|Ship caption=''Sfax''′s [[sister ship]] {{ship|French submarine|Ajax|1930|2}} in 1930.
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=France
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|France|naval}} 
|Ship name=''Sfax''
|Ship namesake=[[Sfax]], a city in [[French protectorate of Tunisia|Tunisia]]
|Ship owner=
|Ship operator=[[French Navy]]
|Ship registry=
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|Ship ordered=1930
|Ship awarded=
|Ship builder=[[Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire]], {{nowrap|[[Saint-Nazaire]], [[France]]}}
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|Ship laid down=28 July 1931
|Ship launched=6 December 1934
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|Ship commissioned=7 September 1936
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|Ship homeport=[[Brest, France|Brest]], France
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|Ship fate=Sunk 19 December 1940
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Header caption={{sfn|Gardiner|Chesneau|1980|pp=273-274}}
|Ship class=[[Redoutable-class submarine (1928)|''Redoutable''-class submarine]]
|Ship type=
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|1384|LT|t|0|abbr=on|lk=in}} [[Standard displacement#Standard displacement|standard]]
*{{convert|1570|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} normal
*{{convert|2084|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} submerged
|Ship length=*{{convert|92.30|m|ftin|abbr=on}} [[length overall|oa]]
*{{convert|92.00|m|ftin|abbr=on}} [[length between perpendiculars|pp]]
|Ship beam={{convert|8.20|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draught={{convert|4.70|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft=
|Ship power=
|Ship propulsion=*2 [[diesel engine]]s, {{convert|8000|shp|kW|0|abbr=on|lk=in}}
*2 [[electric motor]]s, {{convert|2000|shp|kW|0|abbr=on}}
|Ship speed=*{{convert|20|kn|lk=in}} (surfaced)
*{{convert|10|kn|lk=in}} (submerged)
|Ship range=*{{convert|10000|nmi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|10|kn|0|abbr=on}}
*{{convert|4000|nmi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|17|kn|0|abbr=on}}
*{{convert|100|nmi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|5|kn|0|abbr=on}} submerged
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|Ship complement=61
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|Ship armament=*4 × fixed 550 mm (21.7 in) [[torpedo tube]]s in [[Bow (ship)|bow]],
*5 × 550 mm (21.7 in) and 2 × 400 mm (15.7 in) torpedo tubes on external mounts
*1 × 100 mm (3.9 in) gun
*1 × 13.2 mm machine gun
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'''''Sfax''''' was a [[French Navy]] {{sclass|Redoutable|submarine|||1928}} of the M6 series [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] in 1936. She participated in [[World War II]], first on the side of the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] from 1939 to June 1940 and then in the navy of [[Vichy France]] until a German submarine mistook her for an [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] submarine and sank her in December 1940.

==Characteristics==
[[File:Casabianca profile view.svg|upright=1.5|thumb|left|Profile of {{ship|French submarine|Casabianca|1935|2}}, [[sister ship]] of ''Sfax''.]]
''Sfax'' was part of a fairly homogeneous series of 31 deep-sea patrol [[submarine]]s also called "1,500-tonners" because of their [[Displacement (ship)|displacement]]. All entered service between 1931 and 1939.

The ''Redoutable''-class submarines were {{convert|92.3|m|ftin}} long and {{convert|8.1|m|ftin}} in [[Beam (ship)|beam]] and had a [[Draft (ship)|draft]] of {{convert|4.4|m|ftin}}. They could dive to a depth of {{convert|80|m|0}}. They displaced {{convert|1,572|t|LT}} on the surface and {{convert|2,082|t|LT}} underwater. Propelled on the surface by two [[diesel engine]]s producing a combined {{convert|6,000|hp|0}}, they had a maximum speed of {{convert|18.6|kn}}. When submerged, their two [[electric motor]]s produced a combined {{convert|2,250|hp|0}} and allowed them to reach {{convert|10|kn}}. Also called “deep-cruising submarines”, their range on the surface was {{convert|10,000|nmi}} at {{convert|10|kn}}. Underwater, they could travel {{convert|100|nmi}} at {{convert|5|kn}}.

''Sfax'', {{ship|French submarine|Casabianca|1935|2}}, and {{ship|French submarine|Le Glorieux|Q168|2}} were the only ''Redoutable''-class submarines equipped with a [[radio direction finder]].<ref>Huan, p. 44.</ref>

==Construction and commissioning==

[[Keel-laying|Laid down]] at [[Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire]] in [[Saint-Nazaire]],&nbsp;[[France]], on 28 July 1931<ref name=uboatnetfrsfax>[https://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/6138.html Allied Warships: FR Sfax, uboat.net Accessed 9 July 2022]</ref> with the [[hull number]] Q182, ''Sfax'' was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 6 December 1934.<ref name=uboatnetfrsfax/> She was [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 7 September 1936.<ref name=uboatnetfrsfax/><ref>Le Conte.</ref>

==Service history==
===1936–1939===

In 1937, all French submarines had their folding radio [[Mast (ship)|masts]] removed and replaced by a hoisting periscopic [[Antenna (radio)|antenna]].<ref name=ubootefr>[http://www.u-boote.fr/sfax.htm u-boote.fr SFAX (in French) Accessed 14 August 2022]</ref> ''Sfax'' also became one of only three submarines — along with her [[sister ship]]s {{ship|French submarine|Casabianca|1935|2}} and {{ship|French submarine|Le Glorieux|Q168|2}} — to receive a [[Direction finding|radio direction finder]].<ref name=ubootefr/> On 31 July 1938, a member of ''Sfax''′s crew died in a road accident.<ref name=sousmarinessfaxdisparus>[http://sous.marins.disparus.free.fr/index.php/sous-marins/54-sfax?showall=1 Sous-Marins Français Disparus & Accidents: Sous-Marin Sfax (in French) Accessed 14 August 2022]</ref>

By the beginning of 1939, ''Sfax'' was assigned to the 2nd Submarine [[Division (naval)|Division]] based at [[Brest, France|Brest]], France.<ref name=morgantaylorp78>Morgan & Taylor, p. 78.</ref> Her sister ships {{ship|French submarine|Achille|Q147|2}}, ''Casabianca'', and {{ship|French submarine|Pasteur|Q139|2}} made up the rest of the division.<ref>Huan, p. 49.</ref> She underwent a refit at Brest from February to April 1939,<ref name=morgantaylorp78/> then patrolled in the [[Atlantic Ocean]] until later in 1939, when the 2nd Submarine Division was transferred to [[Toulon]], France, for operations in the [[Mediterranean Sea]].<ref name=morgantaylorp78/>

===World War II===
====French Navy====
When [[World War II]] began on 1 September 1939, ''Sfax'' — along with ''Achille'', ''Casabianca'', and ''Pasteur'' — was still assigned to the 2nd Submarine Division in the 4th Submarine Squadron in the 1st [[Flotilla]], a component of the ''[[Forces de haute mer]]'' (High Seas Force), based at Brest.<ref name=ubootefr/><ref name=sousmarinessfaxdisparus/><ref>[http://www.u-boote.fr/pasteur.htm u-boote.fr PASTEUR (in French) Accessed 4 September 2022]</ref> On either 3 September 1939,<ref name=sousmarinessfaxdisparus/><ref name=huanpp6061>Huan, pp. 60–61.</ref> the day France declared war, or on 14 September 1939,<ref name=ubootefr/> according to different sources, ''Sfax'' got underway to patrol off [[Vigo]] on the northern coast of [[Spain]], where part of the [[Nazi Germany|German]] [[merchant fleet]] — which the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] suspected of serving as supply ships for German [[U-boat]]s — had taken refuge at the start of the war.<ref name=sousmarinessfaxdisparus/><ref name=huanpp6061/> ''Sfax'' and the other submarines of her division, as well as their sister ships {{ship|French submarine|Agosta|Q178|2}} and {{ship|French submarine|Ouessant|Q140|2}}, spent several weeks patrolling off Vigo waiting in vain for German [[blockade runner]]s until the patrols were discontinued at the end of October 1939.<ref name=ubootefr/><ref name=morgantaylorp78/>

All four submarines of the 2nd Submarine Division subsequently were assigned to escort duty for [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] [[convoy]]s in the Atlantic.<ref name=sousmarinessfaxdisparus/><ref name=morgantaylorp78/><ref name=huanp67>Huan, p. 67.</ref> They departed Brest on 14 November 1939 and proceeded to [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]], [[Nova Scotia]], [[Canada]].<ref name=ubootefr/> Despite encountering bad weather during their voyage, they arrived at Halifax at 07:30 on 25 November 1939.<ref name=ubootefr/> The British [[Royal Navy]] submarines {{HMS|Cachalot|N83|6}}, {{HMS|Narwhal|N45|6}}, {{HMS|Porpoise|N14|6}}, and {{HMS|Seal|N37|6}} joined them there for escort duty on 26 November 1939.<ref name=ubootefr/> On 2 December 1939, Convoy HX 11 — consisting of 11 British [[Tanker (ship)|tankers]], 33 British [[cargo ship]]s, and a French cargo ship — departed Halifax bound for the [[United Kingdom]] with an escort consisting of ''Sfax'', ''Casabianca'', the British [[Royal Navy]] [[battleship]] {{HMS|Revenge|06|6}}, and a number of Royal Navy and [[Royal Canadian Navy]] [[destroyer]]s,<ref name=uboatnetfrsfax/> ''Sfax'' and ''Casabianca'' joining the escort on 4 December 1939.<ref name=ubootefr/> On 17 December 1939, ''Sfax'' and ''Casabianca'' parted company with the convoy, which arrived safely in British waters on 18 December 1940,<ref name=uboatnetfrsfax/> and the two French submarines arrived at Brest the same day.<ref name=ubootefr/> The 2nd Submarine Division continued convoy escort duty through the winter of 1939–1940.<ref name=morgantaylorp78/><ref name=huanp67/>

During the spring of 1940, ''Sfax'' and the other submarines of her division supported Allied forces fighting in the [[Norwegian campaign]], but sources disagree on details of her service. One source claims that the division was based at [[Harwich]] in [[England]] on 22 March 1940, then moved on 17 April 1940 to [[Dundee]], [[Scotland]], to join the British submarines {{HMS|Clyde|N12|6}} and {{HMS|Severn|N57|6}} in forming the 9th Flotilla.<ref>[http://www.u-boote.fr/achille.htm ACHILLE (in French) Accessed 5 August 2022]</ref> Another claims that ''Sfax'' did not depart Brest until 15 April 1940 and arrived at Harwich on 18 April 1940.<ref name=ubootefr/>  Yet another claims that ''Sfax'' arrived at [[Narvik]], [[Norway]], on 17 April 1940 and did not reach Dundee until the conclusion of her first war patrol of the Norwegian campaign.<ref name=morgantaylorp78/> Early in that patrol, which lasted two weeks,<ref name=morgantaylorp78/> she was almost [[torpedo]]ed by ''Achille'', which initially mistook her for a German U-boat.<ref>Picard, p. 51.</ref> During the patrol, ''Sfax'' fired two [[torpedo]]es at a German ship — described by one source as an "[[ocean liner]]"<ref name=ubootefr/> but possibly the 2,863-[[gross register ton]] [[merchant ship]] ''Palime''<ref name=uboatnetfrsfax/> — in the [[North Sea]] west-northwest of [[Egersund]], Norway, at {{coord|58|30|N|005|30|E}} at 07:25 on 22 April 1940.<ref name=uboatnetfrsfax/> Both torpedoes missed.<ref name=uboatnetfrsfax/> From 7 to 20 May 1940, she conducted a patrol with ''Achille'' and ''Casabianca'' off [[Bergen]], Egersund, and [[Stavanger]], Norway, but the French submarines found few targets.<ref name=ubootefr/> ''Sfax''′s  [[commanding officer]], ''Lieutenant de vaisseau'' ([[Ship-of-the-Line Lieutenant]]) L. V. Groix, later received a commendation for ''Sfax''′s performance off Norway.<ref name=morgantaylorp81>Morgan & Taylor, p. 81.</ref>

German ground forces advanced into France on 10 May 1940, beginning the [[Battle of France]]. ''Sfax'' departed Dundee on 4 June 1940 and returned to Brest.<ref name=morgantaylorp78/> [[Fascist Italy (1922–1943)|Italy]] declared war on France on 10 June 1940 and [[Italian invasion of France|joined the invasion]]. As French defenses crumbled and German forces approached Brest, the French Navy ordered all vessels at Brest to evacuate the port, and directed that any vessels there unable  to get underway were to be [[Scuttling|scuttled]] to prevent their capture by the Germans.<ref name=ubootefr/> ''Sfax'' accordingly departed Brest on 19 June 1940 and proceeded to [[Casablanca]] in [[French Morocco]].<ref name=morgantaylorp78/> She was at Casablanca<ref name=sousmarinessfaxdisparus/> and still part of the 2nd Submarine Division<ref name=ubootefr/> when the Battle of France ended in France's defeat and [[armistice]]s [[Armistice of 22 June 1940|with Germany]] on 22 June 1940 and [[Franco-Italian armistice|with Italy]] on 24 June, both of which went into effect on 25 June 1940.

====Vichy France====
After France's surrender, ''Sfax'' served in the naval forces of [[Vichy France]], based at Casablanca.<ref name=morgantaylorp78/> In the aftermath of the British [[attack on Mers-el-Kébir]] — in which a Royal Navy squadron attacked the French naval squadron at the base at [[Mers El Kébir]] near [[Oran]] on the coast  of [[French Algeria|Algeria]] on 3 July 1940 — ''Sfax'', ''Casabianca'', and their sister ship {{ship|French submarine|Poncelet|Q141|2}} maintained a constant patrol in the Atlantic Ocean {{convert|20|nmi}} off Casablanca from 6 to 18 July 1940 to protect the incomplete battleship {{ship|French battleship|Jean Bart |1940|2}}, which had fled to Casablanca before the armistice.<ref name=ubootefr/><ref name=morgantaylorp78/><ref>Huan, pp. 88–89.</ref> On 23 or 28 October 1940, according to different sources, ''Sfax'' joined ''Casabianca'' and their sister ships {{ship|French submarine|Bévéziers|1935|2}} and {{ship|French submarine|Sidi Ferruch|Q181|2}} in forming a new 2nd Submarine Division based at Casablanca.<ref name=ubootefr/><ref>Huan, p. 96.</ref>

At 12:00 on 17 December 1940, the 2,785-[[Displacement ton|ton]] French Navy [[fleet oiler]] {{ship|French oiler|Rhône||2}} got underway from Casablanca bound for [[Dakar]], [[Senegal]], carrying a cargo of [[munitions]] and 3,500 tons of [[fuel oil]].<ref name=uboatnetfrsfax/><ref name=uboatnetrhone>[https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/726.html Ships hit by U-boats: Rhône, French Fleet oiler, uboat.net Accessed 9 July 2022]</ref><ref name=uboatnetsfaxhit>[https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/725.html Ships hit by U-boats: Sfax (Q 182) French Submarine, uboat.net Accessed 9 July 2022]</ref> Ordered to transfer to Dakar to relieve the submarine {{ship|French submarine|Bévéziers|1935|2}} there, ''Sfax'' belatedly received additional orders to escort ''Rhône'' on her voyage, and she also departed Casablanca that day.<ref name=morgantaylorp78/> ''Sfax'' caught up with ''Rhône'' at 16:00 on 17 December 1940, and the two vessels continued their voyage in company.<ref name=morgantaylorp78/>

===Loss===
''Sfax''′s and ''Rhône''′s voyage southward along the African coast was uneventful until they reached a point between [[Cape Juby]] on the coast of [[Spanish protectorate in Morocco|Spanish Morocco]] and [[Fuerteventura]] in the [[Canary Islands]] on the afternoon of 19 December 1940.<ref name=morgantaylorp78/> At 16:40, ''Sfax'' — stationed about {{convert|400|m|yd}} off ''Rhône'''s [[Port and starboard|starboard]] quarter, with both vessels making about {{convert|8|kn}} — was torpedoed by the German submarine {{nowrap|{{GS|U-37|1938|2}}}}, which mistook ''Sfax'' and ''Rhône'' for Allied vessels.<ref name=uboatnetfrsfax/><ref name=uboatnetrhone/><ref name=uboatnetsfaxhit/><ref>Morgan & Taylor, pp. 78–79.</ref><ref>Huan, p. 98.</ref> ''Rhône''′s crew observed a huge cloud of smoke rising from ''Sfax''′s [[stern]], followed by a gush of [[diesel oil]] and two violent explosions.<ref name=morgantaylorp79>Morgan & Taylor, p. 79.</ref> Within 30 seconds, ''Sfax'' sank by the stern at an angle of 40 degrees<ref name=morgantaylorp79/> in {{convert|80|m|0}}<ref name=ubootefr/> of water in the Atlantic Ocean either {{convert|7|nmi}} off Cape Juby at {{coord|28|03|N|012|54|W|name=''Sfax''}},<ref name=uboatnetfrsfax/><ref name=uboatnetrhone/><ref name=uboatnetsfaxhit/><ref name=morgantaylorp79/><ref>Huan, p. 98.</ref> {{convert|60|nmi}} off Cape Juby,<ref name=ubootefr/> or {{convert|80|nmi}} northeast of Cape Juby at {{coord|28|30|N|011|40|W|name=''Sfax''}},<ref name=uboatnetfrsfax/><ref name=uboatnetsfaxhit/> according to different sources.

With no reason to believe that the French vessels were under submarine attack, ''Rhône''′s [[commanding officer]] concluded that ''Sfax'' had fallen victim to an internal explosion caused by the accidental detonation of torpedoes in her after torpedo room which had in turn caused  an explosion of her after fuel tanks.<ref>Morgan & Taylor, pp. 79–80.</ref> He ordered ''Rhône''′s engines stopped and launched two [[whaleboat]]s, which within 30 minutes rescued four survivors from ''Sfax'' and recovered the badly wounded and unresponsive Groix, who died without regaining consciousness.<ref name=morgantaylorp80>Morgan & Taylor, p. 80.</ref> Before the men aboard the whaleboats could board ''Rhône'', {{nowrap|''U-37''}} torpedoed her at 17:20 forward of her [[Bridge (nautical)|bridge]] in [[Hold (ship)|hold]] number 4.<ref name=morgantaylorp80/> The hold was full of diesel oil, which caught fire.<ref name=morgantaylorp80/> [[Firefighting]] efforts failed, and when the spreading fire threatened to reach the 160 {{convert|100|mm|in|1|adj=on}} [[Shell (projectile)|shells]] in ''Rhône''′s forward [[Magazine (artillery)|magazine]], her crew and ''Sfax''′s survivors abandoned ship in the two whaleboats and a [[rowboat]].<ref name=morgantaylorp80/> It is unknown how ''Sfax''′s four survivors were distributed among the boats.<ref>Morgan & Taylor, pp. 80–81.</ref> The boats were overloaded, so ''Rhône'''s commanding officer and nine volunteers from her crew reboarded ''Rhône'' and an hour later, after darkness fell, managed to free and launch her [[motorboat]], once again abandoning ''Rhône''.<ref name=morgantaylorp80/>

At 20:00 on 19 December 1940, a Spanish [[fishing trawler]] found the motorboat, rescued ''Rhône'''s commanding officer and the nine volunteers from it, and took the motorboat in [[Towing|tow]].<ref name=morgantaylorp80/> At 23:00, the trawler transferred the 10 survivors to the French cargo ship ''Fort Royal'', which transmitted a signal reporting the events to the Vichy French naval command in Casablanca.<ref name=morgantaylorp80/> Although the signal failed to reach Casablanca, the French cargo ship ''Francois L-D'' received it and altered course to proceed to the scene of the attack.<ref name=morgantaylorp80/> ''Francois L-D'' took the 10 survivors aboard from ''Fort Royal'' and launched a motor whaleboat to conduct a fruitless search to the southeast for more survivors.<ref name=morgantaylorp80/> ''Francois L-D'' herself headed southwest, and at 07:45 on 20 December 1940  sighted one of ''Rhône''′s whaleboats {{convert|10|nmi}} from ''Rhône'', rescuing six more men.<ref name=morgantaylorp80/> ''Rhône'' finally sank at 15:00 on 20 December 1940<ref name=morgantaylorp80/> at {{coord|28|03|N|012|54|W|name=''Rhône''}}.<ref name=uboatnetrhone/>

''Francois L-D'' continued to search the area but found no more survivors, and she suspended her search at 18:30 on 20 December 1940 and headed for [[Agadir]], French Morocco.<ref name=morgantaylorp80/> Air and other surface searches also met with no success.<ref name=morgantaylorp80/> However, ''Rhône'''s rowboat and second whaleboat made landfall in Spanish Morocco, the rowboat at 17:00 on 20 December near [[Hassi Chbiki]] and the second whaleboat not far to the north near [[Chbiki]] at 12:00 on 21 December 1940.<ref name=morgantaylorp80/> The men from the rowboat began an overland march toward [[Ifni]], and survivors from the two boats — a total of 43 men — were reunited when the two groups encountered each other during this march.<ref name=morgantaylorp80/> A [[Spanish Army]] truck picked them up and took them to [[Xenel Marsa]], where a medical officer put ashore by the Vichy French [[destroyer]] {{ship|French destroyer|Brestois||2}} treated them for their wounds.<ref name=morgantaylorp80/> Heavy surf made it impossible to embark the survivors on ''Brestois'', so the survivors were taken overland to the Spanish military outpost at [[Tan-Tan]] in Spanish Morocco, and from there either were flown to Cape Juby or carried by truck to [[Guelmin]] in French Morocco.<ref name=morgantaylorp80/>

Sixty-five of the 69 men aboard ''Sfax'' died in her sinking.<ref name=morgantaylorp81/><ref name=uboatnetfrsfax/><ref name=uboatnetsfaxhit/> Eleven members of ''Rhône''′s crew lost their lives.<ref name=uboatnetrhone/><ref name=morgantaylorp81/>

On 21 December 1940, ''U-37''′s commanding officer, ''[[Kapitänleutnant]]'' ([[Captain lieutenant|Captain Lieutenant]]) [[Nicolai Clausen]], transmitted a report of the incident claiming that he had sighted a 7,329-[[gross register ton]] "Kopbard-type" [[Tanker (ship)|tanker]] — apparently a reference to the French merchant tanker ''Kobard'' — and fired a torpedo at it, that the torpedo had gone off course due to a [[gyroscope]] failure and hit an "[[Amphitrite-class submarine|''Amphtrite'']]"-type submarine in the tanker′s convoy, and that the tanker subsequently had "burnt out," without explaining what made the tanker burn.<ref name=morgantaylorp79/> To avoid diplomatic embarrassment over a German submarine sinking ships of the navy of Vichy France, a pro-[[Axis Powers|Axis]] [[neutral country]], the Germans subsequently attempted to cover up ''U-37''′s sinking of ''Sfax'' and ''Rhône''. When the German High Command became aware of their identity, it issued a directive that "We shall continue to maintain to the outside world that there is no question of a German or Italian submarine in the sea area in question being responsible for the sinkings."<ref name=morgantaylorp80/> Clausen was sworn to secrecy<ref name=morgantaylorp81/> and ''I-37''′s [[war diary]] ({{langx|de|Kriegstagebuch}}) was purged of any reference to the sinkings; its entry for 19 December 1940 devoted itself to a discussion of confusion over signals arising from mistakes in the use of her [[Enigma machine]],<ref name=morgantaylorp79/> otherwise stating merely "Nothing to see,"<ref name=uboatnetsfaxhit/> and making a clumsy attempt to obfuscate ''U-37''′s location by reporting that between 00:00 and 04:00 on 19 December 1940 she changed her position by a physically impossible {{convert|600|nmi}} — some ten times farther than a [[U-boat]] could have moved in four hours — and placing her at the time of the sinkings in a grid sector located {{convert|350|mi}} inland in the [[Sahara Desert]] in [[French Algeria|Algeria]].<ref name=uboatnetsfaxhit/><ref>Morgan & Taylor, pp. 79, 80.</ref>

==Commemoration==

Groix received a posthumous promotion to ''capitaine de corvette'' ([[corvette captain]]) "on exceptional grounds and for feats of war."<ref name=morgantaylorp81/> A street in Brest, his home town, is named for him.<ref name=morgantaylorp81/>

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===

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* {{cite book|last1=Huan|first1=Claude|title=Les Sous-marins français 1918–1945|date=2004|publisher= Marines Éditions |isbn=9782915379075|location=Rennes|language=fr}}
* {{cite book|lang=fr|last1=Le Conte|first1=Pierre|title=Sous-marin "Sfax" (Saint-Nazaire) Date d'édition 1936|location=Saint-Nazaire|publisher=Ateliers et chantier de la Loire|date=1936}}
* {{cite book|lang=fr|last1=Monaque|first1=Rémi|title=Une histoire de la marine de guerre française|location=Paris|publisher=éditions Perrin|date=2016|pages=526|isbn=978-2-262-03715-4}}
* {{cite book| last1= Morgan | first1= Daniel | last2= Taylor | first2= Bruce | title= U-Boat Attack Logs: A Complete Record of Warship Sinkings From Original Sources 1939–1945 | publisher= Seaforth Publishing | location= Barnsley, England | date= 2011 | isbn=978-1-84832-118-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PB_OAwAAQBAJ&dq=sfax+u-37+rhone&pg=PA80 }}
* {{cite book|last1=Picard|first1=Claude|title=Les Sous-marins de 1 500 tonnes|date=2006|publisher= Marines Éditions |isbn=2-915379-55-6|location=Rennes|language=fr}}
* {{cite book|lang=fr|last1=Roche|first1=Jean-Michel|title=Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours, Volume II, 1870–2006|location=Millau, France|publisher=Rezotel-Maury|date=2005|pages=591|isbn=2-9525917-1-7|url=http://www.netmarine.net/dico/tome2-a.pdf|access-date=2022-07-10|archive-date=2012-05-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504071013/http://netmarine.net/dico/tome2-a.pdf|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite book|lang=fr|last1=Vergé-Franceschi|first1=Michel| title=Dictionnaire d'Histoire maritime|location=Paris|publisher=[[éditions Robert Laffont]]|date=2002|pages=1,508|isbn=2-221-08751-8}}

{{Redoutable class submarines (1928)}}
{{WWII French ships}}
{{December 1940 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sfax (Q182)}}
[[Category:Redoutable-class submarines (1928)]]
[[Category:1934 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built in France]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of France]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in December 1940]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II]]
[[Category:Submarines sunk by German warships]]
[[Category:Lost submarines of France]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean]]