Le Malin (ship, 1933)

Le Malin

Le Malin (ca.1944)

Ship data flag  France Free France   Ship type Large Destroyer class Le Fantasque class Shipyard Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée , La Seyne-sur-Mer Keel laying November 16, 1931 Launch August 17, 1933 Commissioning June 8, 1936 Whereabouts Removed from the fleet list on February 3, 1964 and canceled in 1977

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 Le Malin (German: The Bad) was a major destroyer ( French Contre-Torpilleurs) of the Le Fantasque class of the French Navy . She survived the Second World War and was only removed from the fleet list on February 3, 1964.

Machine system

The drive system of the Le Malin 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 Le Malin consisted of five 13.86 cm L / 40 guns 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 Le Malin had four 3.7 cm anti-aircraft guns (L / 60) of the 1925 model in single installation and four machine guns 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 anti-submarine defense, the Le Malin had two depth charges at the stern and it was possible to accommodate up to 40 sea mines.

Classification

The Le Malin was built and classified as a major destroyer. Because of her size and above all her speed, she was reclassified as a light cruiser , like all ships of the Le Fantasque class, on November 28, 1943 . In 1951, the ship was reclassified as a 1st class rapid escort destroyer (French destroyer-escorteurs de 1re classe). The Le Malin was classified as an escort for French aircraft carriers.

Whereabouts

The Le Malin was in active fleet service until August 1, 1953 and was transferred to the reserve in Brest . There she served as a stationary training ship for the École navale and then as a floating jetty for the naval base in Lannion . On February 3, 1964, the Le Malin was deleted from the fleet list. Between 1965 and 1976 it was used as a breakwater off Lorient and demolished in 1977.

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 : Le Malin  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Information about the Le Malin 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.