Ahoy, Mates! I've been sailing around the internet (usually on the surface) trying to find a photo of the Surcouf that will show how many propellers she had. But mostly I've been trying to find out how she sank.

The best photo I could find was a model. Shown from the side, it APPEARED to have one propeller in the center, but I couldn't be sure. A website called "Grupos" says it had two screws.

As to her sinking (assuming the haunted U-boat didn't get her), here's what I found:

"Some think that after sailing in January, the Surcouf was in the vicinity of the Panama Canal, where she was run down accidentally by the US freighter Thompson Lykes, but this ship had a tonnage not a great deal more than the French Submarine. When viewed in dry dock after the freighter had hit some object, the damage to her bows looked somewhat minor, much less than would be expected if she had collided with Surcouf."

I am not an expert, but even I know that an accidental collision can produce unexpected results.

Charles de Gaul personally unveiled the memorial to the Surcouf's crew, so I find it hard to believe that the sub was a traitor. One site says it was sunk in the Pacific Ocean.

But the best explanation I can come up with is this: The freighter "Thompson Lykes" rammed something at night. The next day, American planes attacked something in the same area. The "Surcouf" was in that area, and it was never seen again.

Best regards, Vince