Entered into the
École Navale in 1925, he navigated on several naval warships () in the
Atlantic, before opting for
submarine service. In 1928, he served successively on both the
Du Couëdic and
Duperré Avisos, then on the military transport
Seine. In 1930, he partook to campaigns in Antilles, Bermudes, Acores and Terre-neuve on board aviso
Aldebaran. After one year at the torpedo officer and electricians school, Georges Cabanier opted for a career as a submariner in the
submarine service (). In 1932, he embarked on board
1500 ton-class submarine ''L'Achéron
, then on submarine Le Saphir''.
Lieutenant de vaisseau in 1934, he served on
submarine Orion, in 1936, on
submarine cruiser Surcouf, on which he partook to an endurance cruise in the
South Atlantic. In 1938, he served, then was designated as commandant of the mine laying
Rubis. Since June 1940, he opted to serve the camp of Free France with the quasi-totality of his crew. His
Rubis FNFL pavilion pursued patrols in the Northern seas and conducted several mine laying missions in the larger oceanic area of
Norway. First under the orders of
capitaine de corvette Cabanier then Lieutenant de vaisseau Rousselot, the
Rubis was one of the most effective
submarines of the French Navy during the second world war. Capitaine de corvette in January 1941, he joined the
Pacific (December 1941), where he was designated chef d'état-major of admiral
Georges Thierry d'Argenlieu.
Capitaine de frigate (1943), he commanded the auxiliary croiseur
Cap des Palmes (1944), which operated in the
South Pacific with the 3rd
Fleet of the
United States Navy.
Capitaine de vaisseau in October 1945, he represented
France at the
United Nations Conference on International Organization of San Francisco (April 1945), and two months later, assumed the command of the
French Naval School (June 1945) and in 1947 the school-cruiser
Jeanne d'Arc. He served as the
Naval attaché to the U.S. in July 1949, and received his
contre-amiral stars in January 1951. In January 1953, the contre-amiral Cabanier was designated as secretary general adjoint of the Défense nationale (). In March 1954, he was the head of the
naval contingent in Indochina. Upon his return to France in February 1956, he was designated as the chef de l'État-major of the particular naval state secretary ().
Vice-amiral in November 1956, he assumed a couple of days later the command of Anti-Submarine Action Group (). In 1957,
Admiral Cabanier intervened so that the
Rubis (along with corvette
Aconit, the only two
Compagnon de la Libération naval warships of the French Navy), would not get disposed of. Accordingly, a sonar target use was assigned which resulted in drowning the boat indefinitely in the
Mediterranean Sea. In June 1958, he was assigned as chef d'État-major de la Défense nationale () of the cabinet of général de Gaulle.
Vice-admiral of a naval squadron in November 1958, then
Admiral on 1 July 1960, he was designated as
Chief of Staff of the French Navy CEMM and held tenure in this post until 1 January 1968. From 15 February 1969 until 14 February 1975, he was designated as the
Grand Chancellor of the Legion of Honor (). The Ashes of
Admiral Cabanier,
Vice-Admiral Rousselot and the last survivor of the crew, were dispersed of on top of ''L'Épave
of French Submarine Rubis''. == Decorations ==