Kersaint (ship, 1931)

Kersaint

Kersaint ( ca.1935 )

Ship data flag  France Ship type Large Destroyer class Vauquelin- class Shipyard Chantiers Navals Français, Caen (start of construction) Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire, Saint-Nazaire (completion) Keel laying September 19, 1930 Launch November 14, 1931 Commissioning December 31, 1933 Whereabouts Sunk on November 27, 1942

Ship dimensions and crew length 129.3 m ( Lüa ) width 11.8 m Draft Max. 4.97 m displacement Standard : 2,441 ts maximum: 3,120 ts   crew 236 men

Machine system machine 4 × Penhoët boiler, 2 × Parsons turbine Machine performance 64,000 PS (47,072 kW) Top speed 36 kn (67 km / h) propeller 2

Armament 5 × Sk 13.86 cm L / 40 model 1927 (5 × 1) 4 × Flak 3.7 cm L / 60 model 1925 (4 × 1) 4 × MG 13.2 mm / 76 Hotchkiss M1929 (2 × 2) 7 × torpedo tube ⌀ 55.0 cm (2 × 2), (1 × 3) 36 depth charges , 2 launchers, 2 dropping racks 40 sea ​​mines

The Kersaint (named after Guy François de Kersaint ) was a large destroyer ( French Contre-Torpilleurs) of the Vauquelin class of the French Navy . She was one of the ships that was sunk by her crew on November 27, 1942 when the Vichy fleet sank in the port of Toulon .

Machine system

The Kersaint propulsion system consisted of four Penhoët boilers and two Parsons turbines . These drove the two screws via two drive shafts. The machines performed 64,000 WPS . This enabled a speed of 36 knots (about 71 km / h) to be achieved.

Armament

The main artillery of the Kersaint consisted of five 13.86 cm L / 40 guns of the 1927 model in individual installation. This cannon could fire a 40.4 kilogram grenade over a maximum distance of 19,000 m. As anti-aircraft armament, the Kersaint had four 3.7 cm anti-aircraft guns (L / 60) of the 1925 model in a single configuration and four machine guns 13.2 mm / 76 Hotchkiss M1929 in a double configuration. As torpedo armament, the destroyers had seven torpedo tubes in a group of three and two groups of two for the torpedo 23DT Toulon . For submarine hunting , the Kersaint had two depth charges at the stern with a total of 36 depth charges and it was possible to take up to 40 sea mines.

Whereabouts

On November 27, 1942, the Kersaint was in the port of Toulon. When German troops approached, the crew sank the ship in the port. The ship was not lifted and demolished on site in 1950.

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  Map of the sunken ships in Toulon in 1942

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  Vauquelin (left) and Kersaint (right) aground in the port of Toulon (1942)

literature

• Roger Chesneau: Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946 . Conway Maritime Press, Greenwich 1980, ISBN 0-85177-146-7 .
• Vincent P. O'Hara: Struggle for the Middle Sea . Institute Press, New York 2013. ISBN 9781612514086 .
• Mike J. Whitley: Destroyer in World War II. Technology, classes, types . Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart 1991, ISBN 3-613-01426-2 .
• John Jordan, Jean Moulin: French Destroyers: Torpilleurs d'Escadre & Contre-Torpilleurs 1922–1956 . Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley ISBN 978-1-84832-198-4 .

Web links

Commons : Kersaint  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Information about the Kersaint at uboat.net (English).

Footnotes

1. ↑ 138.6 mm / 40 (5.46 ") Model 1927 gun data from navweaps.com. Accessed October 22, 2019. (English)
2. ↑ 23 DT, Toulon torpedo data on navweaps.com. Retrieved October 22, 2019.