Bourrasque class
|
|
|---|---|
| Bourrasque class | |
 Ouragan |
|
| Overview | |
| Type | destroyer |
| units | 12 |
| Keel laying | 1923-1924 |
| delivery | 1926-1928 |
| Whereabouts | 7 war casualties, the last ones out of service in 1950 |
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement |
1,298 ts standard; 1,968 ts Max. |
| length |
106 m |
| width |
9.64 m |
| Draft |
4.3 m |
| crew |
145 men |
| drive |
3 steam boilers |
| speed |
33 kn (61 km / h) |
| Range |
2,150 nm at 14 kn (3,982 km) |
| Armament |
|
The Bourrasque- class was a class of twelve destroyers in the French Navy . Together with the heavier and faster destroyers of the Chacal class, the ships were part of a modernization program of the French Navy after the First World War .
The twelve ships were laid down in 1923 and 1924 and put into service between 1926 and 1928. A further development of the class were the two destroyers of the Wicher class built for the Polish Navy .
The Bourrasque- class destroyers were used by five different navies on both sides during World War II . Five units survived the war and were only decommissioned between 1949 and 1950. The ships bear the names of different winds and storms. The design of the Bourrasque class also formed the basis for the L'Adroit class that followed shortly afterwards .
Technical specifications
The Bourrasque-class ships were 106 m long, 9.64 m wide and had a maximum draft of 4.3 m. The standard displacement was 1,298 ts and the maximum displacement was 1,968 ts. Three steam boilers supplied two steam turbines, each of which drove a propeller via a shaft. The power was 31,000 PS (22,800 kW), with which the ships could reach a speed of 33 kn (61 km / h). The ships' bunkers could hold 360 tons of heavy fuel oil . These were sufficient for 3,000 nautical miles at 15 kn.
The armament of the Bourrasque class consisted of four 130 mm guns Model 1919. These were set up in individual suspensions. The air defense consisted of a 75 mm anti-aircraft gun model 1924, this was located amidships behind the funnels. As a torpedo armament, the ship had six torpedo tubes in two groups of three. In addition, she had two drop racks for 16 depth charges at the stern.
Type ship
In most cases, the first ship of a class becomes the name-giving ship. That was not the case with the Bourrasque class. The Bourrasque was the seventh ship of the class to be keeled, and only the tenth when it was launched. Since the final equipment went very quickly before commissioning, the Bourrasque became the type ship. However, the sister ship Simoun was put into service almost four months off the Bourrasque .
units
| Surname | Shipyard | Keel laying | Launch | Commissioning | Whereabouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bourrasque class | |||||
| Bourrasque ( French for snowstorm ) | Ateliers et Chantiers de France, Dunkirk | November 12, 1923 | August 5, 1925 | August 13, 1926 | The Bourrasque took part in the release of Allied troops from Dunkirk in May 1940 as part of Operation Dynamo . On May 30, the warship ran into a sea mine and was then sunk by German gunfire. The wreck lies at 51 ° 14 ′ 58 ″ N , 2 ° 33 ′ 2 ″ E at a depth of 25 m. |
| Cyclone (French for tropical cyclone or cyclone ) | Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée , Le Havre | September 23, 1923 | January 24, 1925 | August 23, 1926 | The Cyclone was used in the evacuation of Dunkirk. On May 30, 1940, the German Schnellboot S 24 attacked the destroyer and damaged it severely. The Polish destroyer Błyskawica escorted the battered Cyclone to Dover . On June 18, 1940, the destroyer was scuttled in Brest to prevent German access. |
| Mistral (French for Mistral ) | November 28, 1923 | June 6, 1925 | June 1, 1927 | The Mistral was taken over by the Royal Navy on July 3, 1940 in the port of Plymouth ( Operation Grasp ). In 1944 the destroyer was handed over to the Free French Navy and returned to France on August 25, 1945. The ship was decommissioned on February 17, 1950. | |
| Orage (French for thunderstorm ) | Chantiers Navals Francais, Caen | August 20, 1923 | August 30, 1924 | December 1, 1926 | The Orage was sunk by German aircraft on May 23, 1940 off Boulogne-sur-Mer . |
| Ouragan (French for hurricane ) | April 3, 1923 | December 6, 1924 | January 19, 1927 | The Ouragan was at the beginning of the German invasion of France with boiler damage in the harbor. The British towed the ship to Devonport , where the repairs were finished. The destroyer was taken over by the British on July 3, 1940 and handed over to the Polish Navy on July 17, 1940. This led the ship as OF Ouragan . On April 30, 1941, the Ouragan was handed over to the Free French Navy. The ship was decommissioned on April 7, 1949. | |
| Simoun (French for a desert storm in the Sahara and Arabia ) | Chantiers de Penhoët, Saint-Nazaire | August 8, 1923 | June 3, 1924 | April 29, 1926 | The Simoun was in the service of Vichy France and was stationed in Casablanca . After the Allied landing in North Africa in 1942, the ship continued to be used by the Allies. The Simoun was decommissioned on February 17, 1950. |
| Sirocco (French for hot Sahara wind Scirocco ) | March 1, 1924 | October 3, 1925 | July 1, 1927 | The Sirocco took part in the evacuation of Dunkirk. The ship, overloaded with soldiers, was attacked on May 31, 1940 by the German speed boats S 23 and S 26 and sunk. The Polish destroyer Błyskawica , who came to the rescue, was only able to accommodate 15 survivors. The wreck lies at 51 ° 18 ′ 57 ″ N , 2 ° 14 ′ 8 ″ E at a depth of 38 m. | |
| Tempête (French for storm) | Chantiers Dubigeon, Nantes | December 3, 1923 | February 21, 1925 | September 28, 1926 | The Tempête was in the service of Vichy France and was stationed in Morocco . The destroyer passed into Allied hands in 1942 after "Operation Torch" and was decommissioned on February 17, 1950. |
| Tornade (French for tornado ) | Chantiers Dyle et Baccalan, Bordeaux | April 25, 1923 | March 12, 1925 | May 10, 1928 | The tornade was in the service of Vichy France and was stationed in Oran ( Algeria ). During the Allied invasion of Africa, the French destroyer was badly damaged by artillery fire from the British light cruisers Aurora and Calliope on November 8, 1942 . The tornade ran aground near Oran. |
| Tramontane (French for a north wind) | Forges et Chantiers de la Gironde, Bordeaux | June 1, 1923 | November 29, 1924 | October 15, 1927 | The Tramontane was in the service of Vichy France and was stationed in Oran. During the Allied invasion of Africa, the French destroyer was badly damaged by artillery fire from the British light cruisers Aurora and Calpe on November 8, 1942 . The Tramontane ran aground near Oran. |
| Trombe (French for waterspout) | March 5, 1924 | December 29, 1925 | October 27, 1927 | The Trombe was in Vichy-French service and was sunk in Toulon after the German occupation of southern France on November 27, 1942 together with the remains of the French Navy . The destroyer was later lifted and put into service by the Italian Navy as the FR 31 . After the fall of the fascist government in Rome, the warship was handed over to the Free French Navy on October 28, 1943, which stationed it in Bizerta ( Tunisia ). The Trombe was decommissioned in February 1950. | |
|
Typhon (French for typhoon ) |
September 1, 1923 | May 22, 1924 | June 27, 1928 | he Typhon was in the service of the Vichy French Navy and was stationed in Algeria . The destroyer was sunk off Oran during the Allied invasion of Africa on November 9, 1942. | |
Web links
- Bourrasque class on uboat.net (engl.)
literature
- MJ Whitley: Destroyer in World War II. 2nd edition, Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-613-01426-2 .
gallery
"Bourrasque"
Bourrasque
mistral
Ouragan
Simoun
Siroco
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