All member ships took part in World War II, fighting on both sides of the conflict; Four were captured by Italian forces and sunk by the Allies.

[1] The class was designed with additional experience gained from examining of ex-German U-boats received as war reparations.

[1][8] At the outbreak of World War II, the ships served in the Mediterranean Sea, forming part of the 4th Submarine Flotilla stationed at Bizerte.

[9] On June 25, 1941, during Operation Exporter, Souffleur was torpedoed and sunk off Beirut, Lebanon, by the British submarine Parthian.

[8][2] Marsouin was not scuttled and escaped from Toulon to join the Free French Naval Forces[13] and served until 1946.

[9] Only the rebuilding of Phoque (FR.111) was completed, but during its first voyage under the Italian flag on February 28, 1943, the ship was sunk near Syracuse by American planes.