The Émeraude class were built as part of the French Navy's 1903 building program to a Maugas single-hull design.

They had an operational diving depth of 40 meters (130 ft).

Their crew numbered 2 officers and 23 enlisted men.

[2] For surface running, the boats were powered by two Sautter-Harlé 300-metric-horsepower (296 bhp; 221 kW) diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft.

The Émeraude class had a surface endurance of 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) at 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph) and a submerged endurance of 100 nmi (190 km; 120 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph).