Work of the Commission of Inquiry (February 5-July 2, 68)
Following the search, a commission of enquiry was set up on 5 February.
Its mission was to find out what could have happened to La Minerve. It was made up of 3 naval officers and 2 shipbuilding engineers who worked on the case for 5 months to try and understand what could have happened.
Composition
She works under the direction of
Admiral Jules EVENOU: Inspector General of the Navy, President
Biography website of the Order of Liberation
Biography former naval school Companion of the Liberation, naval officer he sailed on submarines and surface vessels.
Admiral Jules Evenou
Captain Georges LASSERRE, Naval Officer
A former submariner, he was aboard the submarine Casabianca which escaped from Toulon during the scuttling of the fleet in 1942. He then joined Free France.
Captain Lasserre
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Pierre DEVAUCHELLE, Chief Engineer of Maritime Engineering
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Corvette Captain André STEPHANT, marine engineer
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Lieutenant Jean CAZENAVE, submariner, commander of the submarine Morse
Clues to the disappearance
The commission began by interviewing a large number of naval officers and marine engineers and worked on the various clues.
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Hydrocarbon stains
Oil stains on the surface. They give off a strong odor characteristic of fuel used in submarines.
They were spotted north of the T65 area where the Minerve was sailing. As the prevailing wind is from west to east, it is concluded that they cannot come from the wreck of the Minerve.
Click here to download a transcribed version of the testimonials
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Underwater implosion on January 27 at 7:59 a.m.
An underwater implosion was detected by seismographs at several CEA (French Atomic Energy Commission) centers headed by Professor Yves Rocard. These centers are designed to detect any suspicious seismic activity that could result from possible atomic explosions originating from foreign powers such as the USSR.
On January 27 at 7:59 a.m., an implosion was recorded coming from the Mediterranean. Analysis suggests that it corresponds to a volume equivalent to that of the Minerve. The last exchange with the Minerve took place at 7:56 a.m.
Professor Yves Rocard calculates, by hand, from the propagation speed of the explosion wave and its direction of origin (azimuth) the point of emission with the help of a Michelin map.
Recording of the implosion of the Minerve by the CEA
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The origin of the radio exchanges between the Minerve and the Bréguet Atlantic
Contacts with the Bréguet-Atlantic a few minutes before the implosion.
The origin of the UHF contacts indicated an origin further south than the "Rocard" point calculated by the eminent scientist. The commission concluded that the aircraft pilots made a navigation error and that their indications were incorrect.