L'Audacieux (ship, 1934)

L'Audacieux

L'Audacieux

Ship data flag  France other ship names X102, ZF5 Ship type Large Destroyer class Le Fantasque class Shipyard Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire, Saint-Nazaire Keel laying November 16, 1931 Launch March 15, 1934 Commissioning November 27, 1935 Whereabouts Heavily damaged by the heavy cruiser Australia in 1940 and no longer repaired

Ship dimensions and crew length 132.4 m ( Lüa ) width 12 m Draft Max. 4.5 m displacement Standard : 2,569 ts maximum: 3,417 ts   crew 265 men

Machine system machine 4 × water tube boilers 2 × Parsons turbines Machine performance 74,000 PS (54,427 kW) Top speed 37 kn (69 km / h) propeller 2

Armament 5 × Sk 13.86 cm L / 40 model 1929 (5 × 1) 4 × Flak 3.7 cm L / 60 model 1925 (4 × 1) 4 × MG 13.2 mm / 76 Hotchkiss M1929 (2 × 2) 9 × torpedo tube ⌀ 55.0 cm (3 × 3) Water bombs , 2 launchers, 1 drop frame 40 sea ​​mines

The L'Audacieux (German: Die Kühne) was a large destroyer ( French Contre-Torpilleurs) of the Le Fantasque class of the French Navy . She was badly damaged on September 23, 1940 by the Australian heavy cruiser Australia during the battle of Dakar and was not completely repaired.

Machine system

The propulsion system of L'Audacieux consisted of four water tube boilers and two Parsons turbines . These drove the two screws via two drive shafts. The machines performed 74,000 WPS . This enabled a speed of 37 knots (about 67 km / h) to be achieved.

Armament

The main artillery of the L'Audacieux consisted of five 13.86 cm L / 40 cannons of the 1929 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 L'Audacieux had four 3.7 cm anti-aircraft guns (L / 60) of the 1925 model in single installation and four 13.2 mm / 76 Hotchkiss M1929 in double installation. As a torpedo armament, the destroyer had nine torpedo tubes in three groups of three for the torpedo 23DT Toulon . For submarine defense possessed L'Audacieux two water bombers at the tail and there was the opportunity to take to 40 sea mines.

Whereabouts

The Australia on August 31, 1942

On September 23, 1940, the L'Audacieux was in the port of Dakar when British ships were shot at by the land batteries of Vichy France. The port was heavily fogged during the battle of Dakar. The fog hindered the French ships in the port and the L'Audacieux was sent to scout . In front of the harbor she met the heavy Australian cruiser Australia , which immediately took the L'Audacieux under fire. The L'Audacieux suffered severe damage to the bridge and the superstructure and caught fire. On the night of September 24th, L'Audacieux ran aground near Rufisque . In the battle, 81 crew members were killed or are missing.

On March 11, 1941, the L'Audacieux was sealed and floated again. It was makeshift repairs and was able to drive to Bizerte on August 7, 1942 on its own , where it arrived on August 22, 1942 and went straight to the dry dock. On December 8, 1942, the city was occupied by German troops and the ship was captured in dry dock. The L'Audacieux got the registration ZF 5 and should be put back into service for the Navy. On May 7, 1943, the Germans gave up the city, blew up the dock gates and sank the ship again. The ship was poorly sealed to get it out of the dock. On December 14, 1943, the wreck floated up. Due to the severe damage, the L'Audacieux was written off as a total loss and cannibalized for her sister ships. The remains of the ship were demolished on site in August 1947.

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 978-1-61251-408-6 .
• 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 : L'Audacieux  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Information about the L'Audacieux 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.