Hi Andrzej

Thanks for asking. Have seen your excellent site on Polish ships. Also the posts on the Axis History Forum last year.

Have since been able to clear a good number of problems regarding the French subs on the slips at the time of German occupation and thereafter. There hasn't been much exchange of information between French and German researchers on this topic in the past.

Re Polish sub under construction at Le Havre: according to a summary report of a German inspection team from July 1940 there were four La Favourite type boats and a Polish sub (in the early stages) under construction. This fits in with information published previously in French publications. However, the report does not go into details, as it was a kind of advance information. I do not know whether a more detailed report has been submitted to the German Naval staff thereafter.

Available photos from Le Havre just cover the French hulls. Thus i am unable to speculate on what was meant by the term "in the early stages". from experience I would guess that at least the keel was already laid down. The French boats were often no more than the keel and a few pressure hull frames. Thus early stage could have meant no more than this at best.

No information is given in German documents about a second sub under construction for the Polish navy.

I have not been able to find out why the Artemis was worked on until launching as the Germans had no intention to use it. To clear the slip it would have been easy to demolished the hull on the slip to reuse the steel elsewhere. Some pressure hulls of former French submarines were use as fuel storage tankas by the Kriegsmarine, but these were just pressure hulls.

Best wishes

Axel