Lorient – Submarine Museum

The Submarine museum (in French “Musee Sous-Marin“) is NOT a museum of submarines (for that you can visit the Flore submarine next door, click here to read more about it), but for a look at the life of the divers underwater.

The most interesting part of this museum (a private and volunteer endeavour) is the building in which the museum is housed: the K2 German submarine pen from the Second World War.

Before going into the museum you can see several items (mostly torpedoes and mines) alongside the K2 building.

At the start of the museum, you will find a small cinema explaining submarines and their history.

There are several rooms displaying photos of old submarines, many dating back to WWII.

There are also several displays using small-scaled models of submarines, showing how they loaded weapons, fuel and men.

The main exhibit of the museum is the Davis Tower (“Tour Davis” in French) that was used as simulator for divers to be able to work in the sea at great depths. This tower was used to get them used to working with heavy & thick diving suits.

Windows on the side allows for instructors to monitor their students.

For divers who spent too much time underwater, or for those who decompressed too fast, a decompression chamber was at ready.

Conclusion

The museum is mildly interesting, the items on exhibit are not as interesting as other museums. However, it is an experience to visit one of these enormous German submarine pen buildings, and also to see how divers are prepared for working underwater.

After all, the museum is run by volunteers and donations. So don’t expect a super professional museum, but if you are in the area, it merits a quick visit.

Click here to access the museum’s website (in French)

Related Posts