Minerve was a diesel–electric submarine in the French Navy, launched in 1961. The vessel was one of 11 of the . In January 1968, Minerve was lost with all hands in bad weather while returning to her home port of Toulon. Minerve sank two days after the submarine of the Israeli Navy disappeared in the eastern Mediterranean between Crete and Cyprus. Minerve was one of four submarines lost to unknown causes in 1968 along with the , the American , and Israeli submarine . After more than 50 years missing, the location of the wreck was discovered in 2019, south of Toulon. Description The Daphné class comprised second-class submarines, intermediate between the larger, ocean-going submarines of the Narval class and the small, specialised, antisubmarine vessels of the . The design was a development of the Aréthuse class, and were required to keep the low noise levels and high manoeuvrability of the smaller submarines, while also keeping a small crew and being easy to maintain. Minerve had an overall length of , with a beam of and a draught of . Displacement was surfaced and submerged. The submarine had diesel-electric propulsion, with two 12-cylinder SEMP Pielstick diesel engines rated at a total of and one electric motor, rated at , which drove two propeller shafts, giving a speed of on the surface and submerged. The ship's machinery and equipment were modular to ease maintenance. Her range was at . The submarine was designed to dive to a depth of . Minerve was fitted with 12 torpedo tubes, with eight in the bow and four in the stern. No reload torpedoes were carried. The ship had a crew of 45, composed of six officers and 39 enlisted. Service history Minerve was ordered under the 1957 French Naval Estimates, was laid down in May 1958 at the Chantiers Dubigeon shipyard in Nantes, and launched on 31 May 1961. After a shakedown cruise to Londonderry Port, Bergen, and Gothenburg in November 1962, the submarine sailed from Cherbourg to Toulon, arriving on 22 December 1962. She was commissioned into the 1st Submarine Squadron on 10 June 1964. Minerve operated solely in the Mediterranean Sea. She was refitted at Missiessy Quay, Toulon, in 1967. Loss On 27 January 1968, at 07:55 CET, Minerve was travelling just beneath the surface of the Gulf of Lion using her snorkel, roughly from her base in Toulon, when she advised