Vauquelin-class destroyer

Kersaint
Class overview
Name: Vauquelin class
Operators:  French Navy
Preceded by: Aigle class
Succeeded by: Le Fantasque class
Completed: 6
Lost: 6
General characteristics
Type: Destroyer
Displacement: 2,441 long tons (2,480 t)
Length: 129 m (423 ft 3 in)
Beam: 11.84 m (38 ft 10 in)
Draught: 4.97 m (16 ft 4 in) max
Propulsion: Geared turbines, 4 boilers, 64,000 shp (47,725 kW)
Speed: 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph)
Range: 3,650 nmi (6,760 km; 4,200 mi) at 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Complement: 220 officers and men
Armament:

The Vauquelin-class large destroyers (contre-torpilleurs) of the French Navy were laid down in 1930 and commissioned in 1931. They were very similar to the previous Aigle class, the only differences being a single extra torpedo tube and the ability to carry naval mines. The class saw action in World War II.

Ships

(Pennant numbers: 2, 3, 93 and X92)
Named after the 18th century naval captain Jacques Cassard
Built by Ateliers et Chantiers de Bretagne, Nantes
Completed 10 September 1933
Scuttled 27 November 1942
Broken up in situ 1956
Chevalier Paul in the mid-1930s
(Pennant numbers: 3, 2, 53, X52)
Named after 17th century admiral Chevalier Paul
Built by Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée, La Seyne
Completed 20 July 1934
Torpedoed and sunk off Syrian coast 16 June 1941
(Pennant numbers: 9, 92, X93)
Named after Admiral Armand de Kersaint
Built by Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire, St Nazaire
Completed 31 December 1933
Scuttled 27 November 1942
Broken up in situ 1950
(Pennant numbers: 7, 91, X91)
Named after French admiral Jean Armand de Maillé-Brézé,
Built by Ateliers et Chantiers de St Nazaire-Penhoet, St Nazaire
Completed 6 April 1933
Lost by accidental explosion 30 April 1940, Greenock, Scotland
Refloated and scrapped
(Pennant numbers: 1, 51, X51)
Named in honour of Jean-François Tartu
Built by Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire, St Nazaire
Completed 31 December 1932
Scuttled 27 November 1942
Broken up in situ 1956
(Pennant numbers: 8, 52, X53)
Named after Jean Vauquelin
Built by Ateliers et Chantiers de France, Dunkirk
Completed 3 November 1933
Scuttled 27 November 1942
Broken up in situ 1951
Vauquelin (left) and Kersaint scuttled in Toulon, November 27, 1942

Maillé Brézé was lost on 30 April 1940 after a torpedo accident at Greenock, Scotland, killing 25 of her crew (sabotage was suspected at the time). Chevalier Paul was sunk off the coast of Syria on 16 June 1941 by British torpedo bombers. Vauquelin, Cassard, Kersaint and Tartu were all scuttled in Toulon Harbour on 27 November 1942 to prevent their capture by Germany; these ships were too badly damaged to be salvaged.

Notes

    References

    • Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
    • Jordan, John & Moulin, Jean (2015). French Destroyers: Torpilleurs d'Escadre & Contre-Torpilleurs 1922–1956. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-198-4.
    • Saibène, Marc (n.d.). Toulon et la Marine 1942-1944. Bourg en Bresse: Marines Editions at Realisations.
    • Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1.


    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.