Melpomène class
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The Melpomène class (sometimes also called Pomone class) was a class of twelve torpedo boats laid down in France from 1933 to 1935 at six different shipyards and put into service from 1936 to 1938 . The model ship was the La Melpomène (T 143) launched on December 13, 1933 at the Ateliers & Chantiers de Bretagne (ACB) shipyard in Nantes , launched on January 24, 1935 and commissioned on November 20, 1936 .
Concept and technical data
The boats were to meet the conditions of the London Naval Conference of 1930 , according to which ships of less than 600 tons for coastal defense could be built in unlimited numbers. They were originally for two 7.5-cm guns and four 40-cm torpedo tubes designed and as Chasers ( escorteurs intended) in the Mediterranean. The way they were then built - reclassified as “light torpedo boats” ( torpilleur léger ) - they were overloaded and top-heavy and therefore not very seaworthy. They were 80.7 m long (76 m in the waterline ) and 7.96 m wide, had a draft of 3.07 m and displaced 680 tons (standard) and 895 tons (maximum). They were washed with two 10-cm-guns, two 37-mm anti-aircraft guns , four 13.2 mm Fla - MG and two 55-cm torpedo tubes arms (in a twin set behind the second stack). Her maximum speed was 34.5 knots , 32 knots when fully loaded, the range of action 1,000 nautical miles at a cruising speed of 20 knots (650 nm at 25 knots). The crew consisted of 92 to 105 men.
Boats of the class
| boat | Shipyard | Keel laying | Launch | Commissioning | End of service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balist | Ateliers & Chantiers de France, Dunkerque | Sept 20, 1934 | May 17, 1937 | May 24, 1938 | Nov 24, 1943 |
| La Bayonnaise | Chantiers Maritime du Sud-Ouest, Bordeaux | Oct 18, 1934 | Jan. 28, 1936 | Apr 1, 1938 | Aug 25, 1944 |
| Bombard | Ateliers & Chantiers de la Loire, Saint-Nazaire | Feb. 18, 1935 | May 23, 1936 | Aug 16, 1937 | 23 Aug 1944 |
| Bouclier | Ateliers et Chantiers de la Seine-Maritime (Worms), Rouen | Oct 18, 1934 | Aug 9, 1937 | Aug 6, 1938 | Aug 31, 1950 |
| Branlebas | Chantiers Augustin Normand, Le Havre | Aug 27, 1934 | Apr 12, 1937 | March 16, 1938 | Dec 14, 1940 |
| La Cordeliere | Chantiers Augustin Normand, Le Havre | Aug 16, 1934 | Sep 9 1936 | Dec. 1, 1937 | Feb. 17, 1950 |
| La Flore | Ateliers & Chantiers de Bretagne, Nantes | March 26, 1934 | May 5, 1935 | Nov 25, 1936 | Aug 31, 1950 |
| L'Incomprise | Ateliers et Chantiers de la Seine-Maritime (Worms), Rouen | Oct. 20, 1934 | Apr 14, 1936 | March 16, 1938 | Aug 31, 1950 |
| L'Iphigénie | Ateliers & Chantiers de la Loire, Saint-Nazaire | Dec 14, 1933 | Apr 18, 1935 | Nov 1, 1936 | Sept 10, 1943 |
| La Melpomène | Ateliers & Chantiers de Bretagne, Nantes | Dec 13, 1933 | Jan. 24, 1935 | Nov 20, 1936 | May 15, 1950 |
| La Pomone | Ateliers & Chantiers de la Loire, Saint-Nazaire | Nov 22, 1933 | Jan 25, 1935 | Dec. 1, 1936 | 27 Sep 1943 |
| La Poursuivante | Ateliers & Chantiers de France, Dunkerque | Aug 13, 1934 | Aug 4, 1936 | Nov 5, 1937 | Nov 27, 1942 |
fate
Until the beginning of the Second World War , the twelve boats served in the French Navy partly in the Mediterranean and partly in the Atlantic . When the war broke out on September 3, 1939, the boats were stationed in four divisions as follows:
- 11th Torpedo Boat Division , Dunkerque: Branlebas , La Cordelière , L'Incomprise
- 12th Torpedo Boat Division , Biserta ( Tunisia ): Bombarde , L'Iphigénie , La Pomone
- 13th Torpedo Boat Division , Toulon: La Baliste , La Bayonnaise , La Poursuivante
- 14th Torpedo Boat Division , Lorient : Bouclier , La Flore , La Melpomène
When the Franco-German armistice at Compiègne was concluded on June 22, 1940, the three boats of the 12th Division were in Biserta, La Poursuivante (in Toulon) and La Bayonnaise (in Ajaccio ) were in ports in the unoccupied part of France, and La Baliste ran to Oran ( Algeria ).
The other six boats were in English ports ( La Melpomène , La Flore , Branlebas , La Cordelière and L'Incomprise in Portsmouth and Bouclier in Plymouth ). They were confiscated there by the British government on July 3, 1941 ( Operation Grasp , parallel to Operation Catapult ), and then served in the Royal Navy or, in some cases, later in the French Free Navy (FNFL, Forces navales françaises libres) ( La Melpomène ) or the Dutch Navy ( Bouclier ). The six formed the Royal Navy's 23rd Destroyer Flotilla. Branlebas was lost on December 14, 1940 in a severe storm off the south coast of Cornwall . The remaining five were returned to France at the end of the war, but no longer put into service, but mothballed in Landévennec and scrapped in 1950.
The Poursuivante was in Mers-el-Kébir in Algeria on July 3, 1940 , when the French fleet was attacked there by the British Royal Navy and partially sunk ( Operation Catapult ). She later moved to Toulon . There she was, as her two sister boats La Bayonnaise and La Baliste , on 27 November 1942 by her crew scuttled in order not to fall into German hands. The Baliste and the La Bayonnaise were later lifted by the Italian Navy and put back into service with the designations FR 45 and FR 44 ; the La Poursuivante was also raised, but no longer used.
The three remaining boats of the class - Bombarde , La Pomone and L'Iphigenie - fell into Italian hands on December 8, 1942 in Biserta ( Tunisia ) and were also used by the Italian Navy with the numbers FR 41, FR 42 and FR 43 posed. The Bombarde was the only ship that sank in Biserta on December 6, 1942, in order to prevent a conquest by the German troops; however, it was lifted and repaired by the Italian Navy.
All three, as well as the two boats raised in Toulon and put back into service, were confiscated by the German navy in 1943 after the armistice of Cassibile , with which Italy left the war alliance with the Third Reich . They were given the designation TA (= Torpedo Boat Abroad) and the numbers:
- TA 9 (ex Bombarde , ex Italian FR 41 )
- TA 10 (ex La Pomone , ex Ital. FR 42 )
- TA 11 (ex L'Iphigénie , ex Ital. FR 43)
- TA 12 (ex Baliste , ex Italian FR 45 )
- TA 13 (ex La Bayonnaise , ex Ital. FR 44 ).
Three of them - TA 9 , TA 10 and TA 11 - were then combined by the Navy in the 4th Escort Flotilla set up in La Spezia in March 1943 and used in the Mediterranean. The flotilla was disbanded in August 1943 and the three boats came to the 3rd escort flotilla. TA 12 was lifted in Toulon on May 13, 1943 and should also be used in the 3rd and 4th escort flotilla, but was sunk by American bombs on November 24, 1943, before commissioning, and then scrapped. TA 13 was no longer repaired and was sunk in Toulon on August 25, 1944 by members of the Navy. TA 9 , which had already been taken over by the Navy on April 6, 1943, served in the Tyrrhenian Sea until September 1943 , was then laid up in Toulon and sunk there on August 23, 1944 during an American air raid. TA 10 , also taken over by the Kriegsmarine on April 6, 1943, served in the 3rd Escort Division from June 1943 and later in the 4th Escort Division in the Aegean Sea from July 23, 1943 . On September 23, 1943, the boat got into a skirmish with the British destroyer HMS Eclipse near Rhodes during escort duties , in which it was severely damaged. It could still be stranded at Prasonisi , but was blown up there on September 25, 1943. Coming in from the TA 10 led Italian freighter Gaetano Donizetti (2428 BRT) with 1,576 Italian prisoners of war and 220 crew members and security guards on board was almost sunk in the British attack immediately; there were no survivors.
Individual fates
| boat | date | comment |
|---|---|---|
| Balist | Nov 24, 1943 | Remained in June 1940 in the Mediterranean Sea and near Vichy France . Sunk on November 27, 1942 in Toulon; capsized. Lifted by Italy in December 1942 and commissioned as FR 45 on May 13, 1943 . Confiscated by the Navy on September 9, 1943, renamed TA 12 , but no longer put into service. Sunk on November 24, 1943 during American B-17 bombing raid. Broken down on site in 1943. |
| La Bayonnaise | August 25, 1944 | Remained in June 1940 in the Mediterranean Sea and near Vichy France. Sunk on November 27, 1942 in Toulon; capsized. Lifted by Italy and after repairs put into service on April 28, 1943 as FR 44 . Confiscated by the Navy on September 9, 1943, renamed TA 13 , but no longer put into service. Sunk on August 25, 1944 in Toulon. |
| Bombard | 23 Aug 1944 | Remained in June 1940 in the Mediterranean Sea and near Vichy France. Captured by Italy on December 8, 1942 in Biserta and put into service as FR 41 . Taken over by the Kriegsmarine as TA 9 on April 6, 1943 and used in the Tyrrhenian Sea until September 1943. Laid up in Toulon on September 27, 1943. Sunk there by US aerial bombs on August 23, 1944. |
| Bouclier | 23 Aug 1944 | Slightly damaged in a German air raid off the Dutch coast on May 17, 1940. Took part in the evacuation of Dunkerque in May 1940 . Slightly damaged in a collision in the English Channel on June 3, 1940. Confiscated by the Royal Navy on July 3, 1940 in Portsmouth. Commissioned on August 14, 1940 with Polish crew. Handed over to the Dutch Navy on August 31, 1940, which it put into service with the number H 20 , but hardly used due to machine problems. Returned to the Royal Navy on January 12, 1942 and handed over to the French Free Navy (FNFL) on the same day. Used as an ASDIC training ship from August 1943 . Relocated to the ship reserve in Hartlepool in 1944 . Repatriated to Cherbourg on October 6, 1945 . Laid up in Landévennec, struck off the list of ships on August 31, 1950 and scrapped in Brest in July 1951 . |
| Branlebas | December 14, 1940 | Damaged in a German air raid off the Belgian coast on May 19, 1940 and in the shipyard in Cherbourg until May 29. Then took part in the evacuation of Dunkerque. Saved the survivors of the sinking of the destroyer Bourrasque on May 30th . Went to Portsmouth on June 20th. Confiscated there by the Royal Navy on July 3, 1940 and used by them in the escort service. Broken into two parts in a storm 25 nautical miles south-southwest of Eddystone Lighthouse on December 14, 1940, and sunk immediately. 96 dead, 3 survivors. |
| La Cordelière | 17th August 1950 | Took part in the evacuation of Dunkerque in May 1940 . Confiscated by the Royal Navy on July 3, 1940 in Portsmouth. From this returned to the Free French Navy (FNFL), but hung up in Greenock due to lack of crew . Transferred to Cherbourg on September 23, 1945. Laid up in Landévennec, deleted from the list of ships on August 17, 1950 and then scrapped. |
| La Flore | August 31, 1950 | Confiscated by the Royal Navy on July 3, 1940 in Portsmouth. Returned by this to the Free French Navy (FNFL), but hung up in Hartlepool due to lack of crew. Transferred to Cherbourg on September 9, 1945. Laid up in Landévennec, deleted from the list of ships on August 31, 1950 and then scrapped. |
| L'Incomprise | August 31, 1950 | Confiscated by the Royal Navy on July 3, 1940 in Portsmouth. Returned by this to the Free French Navy (FNFL), but hung up in Hartlepool due to lack of crew. Transferred to Cherbourg on September 9, 1945. Laid up in Landévennec, deleted from the list of ships on August 31, 1950 and then scrapped. |
| L'Iphigénie | September 10, 1943 | Remained in June 1940 in the Mediterranean Sea and near Vichy France. Captured by Italy on December 8, 1942 in Biserta and put into service as FR 43 . Taken over by the Navy as TA 11 on April 6, 1943 and used in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Seriously damaged in a battle with Italian speedboats near Piombino on September 9, 1943 and sunk the following day in Piombino by Italian tank fire . |
| La Melpomene | May 15, 1950 | Took part in the evacuation of Dunkerque in May 1940. Confiscated by the Royal Navy on July 3, 1940 in Portsmouth. From this on August 31, 1940 the Free French Navy (FNFL) returned. Launched in Hartlepool in 1943. Transferred to Cherbourg on September 16, 1945. Laid up in Landévennec, deleted from the list of ships on May 15, 1950 and then scrapped. |
| La Pomone | September 25, 1943 | Remained in June 1940 in the Mediterranean Sea and near Vichy France. Captured by Italy on December 8, 1942 in Biserta and put into service as FR 42 . Taken over by the Kriegsmarine with the number TA 10 on April 6, 1943 . During the escort of the Italian freighter Gaetano Donizetti (2428 GRT) with 1576 Italian prisoners of war and a crew of 220 and guards on board on September 23, 1943 in a battle with the British destroyer HMS Eclipse, it was badly damaged and aground on the southern tip of Rhodes. Blasted there on September 25, 1943. |
| La Poursuivante | August 25, 1944 | Was shot at in the Spanish Civil War and received two shell hits. Remained in June 1940 in the Mediterranean Sea and near Vichy France. Survived the attack by the Royal Navy on Mers-el-Kébir on July 3, 1940. Sunk in Toulon on November 27, 1942. Lifted by Italy in July 1943, seized by the Navy on September 9, 1943, but no longer put into service. Sunk on August 25, 1944 in Toulon. After the war the wreck was lifted to be scrapped, but decreased 1947 when towing south of Saint-Tropez 800 m from Roche Fouras in 55-58 m depth at 43 ° 12 ' N , 6 ° 41' O . |
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.wlb-stuttgart.de/seekrieg/43-09.htm
- ↑ http://scubaspot.free.fr/epaves/poursuivante.html
literature
- Marc Saibène: Les Torpilleurs Légers Francais 1937-1945. Librairie de la Mer, Marines Editions, Paris, 2004, ISBN 978-2-9153-7913-6
- Carles Salou: Les Torpilleurs de 600 tW du Type 'La Melpomène'. Lela Presse, Outreau, 2004, ISBN 2-914017-22-7