Le Fantasque class

*Le Fantasque* class
	The lead ship Le Fantasque in Casco Bay on June 13, 1943
Ship data
country	France Free France;
Ship type	Large Destroyer
Construction period	1933 to 1936
Launch of the type ship	March 15, 1934
Units built	6th
period of service	1936 to 1964
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 ø 55.0 cm (3 × 3); Water bombs , ; 2 launchers, 1 drop frame; 40 sea mines ;

The Le Fantasque class was a class of six large destroyers ( French Contre-Torpilleurs) of the French Navy ( French Marine nationale française) in World War II . It was the successor to the Vauquelin class and predecessor to the Mogador class . Two ships of the class were lost during World War II, four served in the French Navy until the 1960s.

Construction history

The construction of the Le Fantasque class was based on the assumption that the destroyers could operate together with battleships and cruisers , but were not limited to this role. The Italian Regia Marina responded to these ships by building the Capitani Romani class .

Due to the size and possible uses of the ships, they were reclassified as light cruisers on November 28, 1943 .

Machine system

The drive system of the Le Fantasque class 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. In high-performance test drives, a speed of 45 kn could be achieved for a short time.

Armament

The main artillery of the Le Fantasque class consisted of five 13.86 cm L / 40 guns of the 1929 model in single installation. This cannon could fire a 40.4 kilogram grenade over a maximum distance of 19,000 m. As anti-aircraft armament, the Le Fantasque class had four 3.7 cm L / 60 anti-aircraft guns of the 1925 model in a stand-alone configuration and four 13.2 mm / 76 Hotchkiss M1929 machine guns in a double configuration. As a torpedo armament, the destroyers had nine torpedo tubes in three groups of three for the torpedo 23DT Toulon . For submarine defense possessed Le-Fantasque -Klass two water bombers at the tail and there was the opportunity to take to 40 sea mines.

units

Surname	Shipyard	Keel laying	Launch	Commissioning	Whereabouts
Le Fantasque class
Le Fantasque (German: The moody)	Arsenal de Lorient, Lorient	November 16, 1931	March 15, 1934	November 15, 1935	Reclassified as a light cruiser on November 28, 1943, deleted from the fleet list in 1953 and abandoned in Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer in 1958 .
Le Malin (German (malignant): The Malignant)	Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée , La Seyne-sur-Mer	November 16, 1931	August 17, 1933	June 8, 1936	Reclassified as a light cruiser on November 28, 1943, deleted from the fleet list on February 3, 1964, then used as a breakwater in Lorient and demolished in 1977.
Le Terrible (German: The Terrible)	Chantiers Navals Français, Blainville-sur-Orne Ateliers et Chantiers de Bretagne, Nantes	December 8, 1931	November 30, 1933	October 1, 1935	Reclassified as a light cruiser on November 28, 1943, removed from the fleet list on June 29, 1962 and canceled in 1963.
L'Indomptable (German: Die Unbeugsame)	Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée, La Seyne-sur-Mer	January 25, 1932	December 7, 1933	February 10, 1936	Sunk in Toulon on November 27, 1942, the wreck was demolished on site in 1950.
L'Audacieux (German: Die Kühne)	Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire, Saint-Nazaire	November 16, 1931	March 15, 1934	November 27, 1935	Sunk by the Wehrmacht in the dry dock in Bizerte on May 7, 1943 and demolished on site in 1947.
Le Triomphant (German: The Triumphant)	Ateliers et Chantiers de France, Dunkirk	August 28, 1931	April 16, 1934	May 25, 1936	Reclassified as a light cruiser on November 28, 1943, decommissioned on December 19, 1954 and sold for scrap in December 1957.

literature

Roger Chesneau: Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946 . Conway Maritime Press, 2010, ISBN 0-85177-146-7 .
Mike J. Whitley: Destroyer in World War II . 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 : Le Fantasque class - collection of images, videos and audio files

Information about the Le Fantasque class at uboat.net (English).

Footnotes

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

[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.