Monument aux Marins du Pluviôse
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Monument aux Marins du Pluviôse
Avenue Raymond Poincaré - 62100 CALAIS
At the beginning of the 2th century, the port of Calais hosted a submarine base in its brand new Carnot basin. Three submersibles Germinal, Ventôse and Pluviose were based there. The last two were on a diving exercise offshore on May 26, 1910. As it was surfacing, the Pluviose was hit by the Pas de Calais liner returning to the port of Calais. The submarine was ripped open and sank, water pouring in. The rescue services were powerless, there were no survivors… It was a national tragedy, echoed in the Parisian press.
The salvage operations were difficult. On June 10, the wreck was towed to the port of Calais. The bodies of the 27 submariners were identified. The funeral took place at Notre Dame de Calais on June 22 in the presence of Armand Fallières, President of the Republic.
In Calais, it was quickly decided to erect a monument to the victims of this maritime disaster. The work was entrusted to the sculptor Emile Guillaume, with an inauguration in 1913.
This statue escaped the melting of bronze monuments during the Occupation. The fact that the monument pays tribute to sailors lost at sea strongly influenced this decision.
To note that : You have to get close to the monument to understand its meaning. You can clearly see an angel plunging an arm into the sinking submarine. This angel collects the souls of the unfortunate victims.
