They were designed as attack submarines for anti-submarine warfare and were referred to as Sous-marins de Chasse by the French Navy.

The Daphné class are an enlarged version built for the French, Pakistani, Portuguese, Spanish and South African navies.

The design was influenced by the German World War II Type XXIII U-boats, though were larger, with a heavier armament and faster when submerged but retained a small silhouette and great manoeverability.

The Aréthuse class were the first French submarines to use a diesel-electric propulsion system and were powered by two 12-cylinder SEMT Pielstick diesel engines driving one shaft rated at 790 kilowatts (1,060 bhp) surfaced.

The generators were placed on spring suspensions and the motor was attached directly to the shaft creating a near-silent operational environment while submerged.

[4] By 1960 all four submarines had entered service and operated exclusively in the Mediterranean Sea as a deterrent against threats to commercial shipping between France and its colonies in North Africa.