During World War II, she operated on the Allied side until 1940, when she became part of the naval forces of Vichy France.

[1] and her keel was laid down at Chantiers et Ateliers Augustin Normand in Le Havre, France, on 1 January 1928.

[1][2] In November 1934, Méduse, her sister ships Amazone and La Psyché, and the submarine Danaé visited Leith, Scotland.

[1] When World War II began on 1 September 1939 with the German invasion of Poland, Méduse was part of the 18th Submarine Division — a part of the 2nd Submarine Squadron in the 6th Squadron — along with her sister ships Amphitrite, Oréade, and La Psyché, based at Oran in Algeria.

On 3 July 1940, the British began Operation Catapult, which sought to seize or neutralize the ships of the French Navy to prevent their use by the Axis Powers.

[1] Operation Torch, the Allied amphibious landings in French Morocco and Algeria, began in the predawn hours of 8 November 1942.

[1] Her commanding officer decided to make for El Hank to recharge her batteries, but along the way she sustained additional damage and suffered three wounded when U.S. aircraft strafed her with machine guns.

[1] On 9 November 1942, a floatplane from Philadelphia bombed Méduse near Cape Cantin, inflicting additional damage on her.

[1][2] A floatplane from Philadelphia sighted her that day after she beached herself, finding her down by the stern and listing heavily to port, and bombed her again.

[Her commanding officer] tried everything for 36 hours to save his vessel, showing, in particularly perilous and difficult circumstances, magnificent qualities of energy, courage, and coolness.