After serving in Toulon with the 7th and later 5th submarine squadrons, in 1937 Rubis was transferred to Cherbourg.
During the Norwegian campaign, in May 1940, she laid mines off the Norwegian coast; her mines claimed four Norwegian vessels in May and June, and a further three merchantmen in July. At the time of the French surrender on June 22, 1940, she was in port in the United Kingdom, where she promptly joined the Free French Forces.
Whilst minelaying off Norway in mid-1941, she encountered and torpedoed a Finnish merchantman. Later in the war, she laid mines in the Bay of Biscay, claiming three German auxiliary minesweepers, an armed trawler, and a French tug in 1942, and a fourth auxiliary minesweeper in 1943. Operating off Stavanger in September 1944, her mines claimed two auxiliary submarine chasers and two merchantmen. In October and November she continued in Norwegian waters, damaging two vessels but with no sinkings. On 21 December, however, her mines claimed three auxiliary submarine chasers, a German merchantman, and a minesweeper.
Throughout the war, Rubis made 22 operational patrols, laying nearly 683 mines and sinking some 21,000 GRT of shipping. With 22 enemy ships sunk (14 of them German, including 12 warships), she achieved the highest kill number in the FNFL.
From 1946 to 1948, she was used as a school ship for rigging in Toulon.
Rubis was struck on 4 October 1949, and sank on 31 January 1958 to be used as a sonar target. The wreck lies 41 metres underwater between Cavalaire and Saint-Tropez, and has become a popular diving attraction.
From
website Facts about Rubis Wreck- It is in France
- Rubis Wreck is in the Tyrrhenian Sea.
- The typical depth is 0-40 Metres 0-130 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 10-30 Metres 30-100 Feet.