The
Guépard class consisted of six
(contre-torpilleurs) built for the
French Navy during the 1920s. The
ship class saw action in World War II, none surviving the war. was sunk during the Norwegian campaign in May 1940 by German
, while the surviving ships joined the Vichy French Navy after France surrendered to the Axis in June after losing the Battle of France. They were
scuttled in November 1942 when the Germans attempted to seize the French fleet.
Design and description
The
Guépard-class ships were improved versions of the preceding . They had an
length overall of , a beam of ,
[Jordan & Moulin 2015, p. 79] and a draft of . The ships displaced at
standard load[Roberts, p. 267] and at
deep load. They had a metacentric height of and their hull was divided by a 11 transverse bulkheads into a dozen watertight compartments. Their crew consisted of 10 officers and 200 crewmen in peacetime and 102 officers and 224
enlisted men in wartime.
[Jordan & Moulin 2015, pp. 79, 94]
The ships were powered by two geared , each driving one propeller using steam provided by four du Temple boilers that operated at a pressure of and a temperature of . The turbines were designed to produce which was intended give the ships a speed of . They comfortably exceeded their designed speed; the fastest of the ships, , reached a speed of from during her sea trials. The Guépards carried of fuel oil which gave them a range of at .[Jordan & Moulin, pp. 79–83]
The main battery of the Aigle class consisted of five 40-caliber Modèle 1923 guns in single gun shield mounts, one superfiring pair fore and aft of the superstructure and the fifth gun abaft the rear funnel. Their anti-aircraft armament consisted of four semi-automatic Modèle 1927 guns in single mounts positioned amidships. They were equipped with two rotating triple mounts for , one mount between the two pairs of funnels as well as another aft of the rear funnel. A pair of depth charge chutes were built into their stern; these housed a total of sixteen depth charges, with eight more in reserve. They were also fitted with four depth-charge throwers, two on each side abreast the forward pair of funnels, for which the ships carried a dozen depth charges.[Jordan & Moulin 2015, pp. 79, 84–89]
Ships
- Built by Arsenal de Lorient.
- Completed 10 October 1930.
- She was sunk by German Junkers Ju 87 Stukas while taking part in the Namsos Campaign, on 3 May 1940, off Trondheim. Out of 229 members on the crew, 136 were lost.
Survivors from
Bison were picked up by , which was then also sunk by the
Stukas.
- Built by Arsenal de Lorient.
- Completed 13 August 1929,
- Scuttled 27 November 1942.
- Refloated 4 September 1943.
- Bombed and sunk March 1944.
- Refloated 1947 and broken up.
- Built by Ateliers et Chantiers de France, Dunkirk.
- Completed 21 January 1931.
- Seized by Germans 27 November 1942.
- Given to Italy and entered service as FR 21.
- Scuttled La Spezia 9 September 1943.
-
(named after the battle of Valmy)
- Built by Ateliers et Chantiers de St Nazaire-Penhoët, St. Nazaire
- Completed 1 January 1930.
- Seized by Germans 27 November 1942.
- Refloated 15 March 1943 and began refit as Italian Navy FR 24
- Captured by Germans at Savona September 1943
- Wreck found at Genoa 1945 and broken up.
-
(named after the battle of Verdun)
- Built by Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire, St Nazaire.
- Completed 1 April 1930.
- Scuttled 27 November 1942.
- Refloated 29 September 1943.
- Bombed and sunk 1944
- Refloated 1948 and broken up in Italy.
-
(named after Marshal Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban)
- Built by Ateliers et Chantiers de France, Dunkirk.
- Completed 9 January 1931.
- Scuttled 27 November 1942.
- Refloated 12 May 1947 and broken up.
Notes