French submarine Casabianca ( Q183 ) " Casabianca " ( Q183 ) was a " Redoutable " - class submarine of the French Navy , named in honour of Luc - Julien - Joseph Casabianca . She was notable for her escape from Toulon in November 1942 as Germans forces tried to seize the French fleet as part of Case Anton , the occupation of Vichy France . Following her escape the submarine and her crew fought on the side of the Allies . Phony War , Vichy France and Escape from Toulon . During the Phony War , the " Casabianca " undertook uneventful cruises in the North Sea and off Norway . After the Fall of France and subsequent armistice , she was disarmed in 1941 . Her new captain , " Capitaine de Vaisseau " Jean L ' Herminier , managed to illegally restore the fighting potential of the submarine , and store 85 m³ of fuel aboard . On the 27 November 1942 , the SS stormed the harbour of Toulon to seize the French fleet , triggering the scuttling of the French fleet . As other vessels were scuttled by their crews , the " Casabianca " managed to set sail and dive , under fire from German forces . She sailed south to Algiers , where she surfaced in front of the screen of British patrol boats before signaling her status and intentions . Two other submarines , the " Marsouin " and the " Glorieux " , arrived in the next few days . Missions for the secret services . From December 1942 to 1944 , the " Casabianca " landed intelligence elements , radios , ammunitions and weapons in Corsica and Provence for the Maquis . Her elusiveness earned her the nickname of " Phantom Submarine " from German troops . The British conservative MP Keith Monin Stainton served as a liaison officer aboard the submarine in 1943 , whilst a Royal Navy lieutenant . From 1943 until 1944 Charles William Beattie , a Royal Navy Signals specialist also served on board Casabianca to safe guard and interpret secret cyphers sent to the boat whilst out on station , bravely taking part in many of the secret landings under the noses of the enemy on the shores of Corsica . In her last mission , she landed a hundred men of the elite forces ( achieving a record for a submarine of such a displacement in the process ) . The men were landed on an isolated beach at Arone near the village of Piana in the North West of Corsica . A monument exists there now . End of the war . After the liberation of Corsica , the " Casabianca " was used for regular patrols . In 1944 , she was hit in a friendly fire accident by a British plane , and had to refit in Philadelphia until March 1945 . The submarine was scrapped in 1956 , but the conning tower survives — since 2004 , it has been on display in Bastia near the harbour . The French Navy ' s " Rubis " class nuclear submarine " Casabianca " ( S 603 ) was named after the submarine . Achievements . During her career , the " Casabianca " achieved the following success : Casabianca in popular culture . The submarine ' s exploits were used as the basis for the 1951 film " Casabianca " , starring Pierre Dudan and Jean Vilar . The " Casabianca " also played a prominent role in the 2007 novel " The Double Agents " , book five of the " Men At War " series by W . E . B . Griffin . Specifically , the insertion of Allied agents into Sicily and subsequent sinking of a German E - Boat and cargo ship .