Submarine 'Minerve' Located, Sunk in 1968

The French Navy, with the help of the seismic vessel “Seabed Constructor,” has located the wreck of the submarine “Minerve,” which disappeared on January 27, 1968, with 52 crew members on board. It is located at a depth of 2,400 meters and about 27 miles from the naval base in Toulon. The incident, which shocked the French public at the time, occurred during the return from anti-submarine warfare exercises, and the news has once again shocked France.

Current electronic search systems using sonars and underwater drones have allowed for the location of its whereabouts, in a mission that included, among others, the vessel “Seabed Constructor,” the same one that located the position of the Argentine submarine ARA “San Juan.”

The announcement of the discovery was made this Monday by France's Minister of Defense, Florence Parly. The news has moved the families of the missing military personnel, who had pressured earlier this year for a new search, which has finally yielded results.

This is a Daphné-class vessel, of the same model built for the Spanish Navy at the shipyard of the Empresa Nacional Bazán in Cartagena.

Photo: via Foro Naval