Chacal-class destroyer
![]() Chacal before 1940
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Class overview | |
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Name | Chacal or Jaguar |
Operators | ![]() |
Succeeded by | Guépard class |
Completed | 6 |
Lost | 5 |
Scrapped | 1 |
General characteristics (as built) | |
Type | Large destroyer |
Displacement |
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Length | 126.8 m (416 ft 0.1 in) |
Beam | 11.1 m (36 ft 5.0 in) |
Draft | 4.1 m (13 ft 5.4 in) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed | 35.5 knots (65.7 km/h; 40.9 mph) |
Range | 3,000 nmi (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
Crew | 12 officers, 209 crewmen (wartime) |
Armament |
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The Chacal-class destroyer, sometimes known as the Jaguar class, were a group of six large
The ships were initially split between the
When
All three of the ships in Toulon were placed in
In the meantime, the British had turned
Background
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Contre-torpilleur_Jaguar_%281926%29.svg/220px-Contre-torpilleur_Jaguar_%281926%29.svg.png)
Preliminary studies for large destroyers capable of defending the French
The
Description
They had an
The raised
The Chacal class was powered by two geared
Armament
The main armament of the Chacal-class ships was originally intended to be mounted in a mix of single and twin mounts, but the twin-gun mounts proved unsatisfactory so the ships were armed with five 40-
The NGS deemed this gun obsolete shortly after the first ships were
The initial plan was to fit each ship with a
The
The Chacal-class ships carried two above-water triple sets of 550-millimeter (21.7 in) torpedo tubes. Their Mle 1919D torpedoes had a 238-kilogram (525 lb), picric-acid warhead and could be set for a speed of 35 knots with a range of 6,000 meters (6,600 yd) or 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) for 14,000 meters (15,000 yd).[15] A pair of depth charge chutes were built into their stern; these housed a total of twenty Guiraud Mle 1922 200-kilogram (440 lb) depth charges. They were also fitted with four depth-charge throwers abreast the fore funnel for which they carried a dozen Guiraud Mle 1922 100-kilogram (220 lb) depth charges. The four depth charge throwers were removed in 1932 as they were badly positioned and their charges tended to cause leaks in the hull when used, although two were reinstalled after the war began in 1939. Space and weight was reserved for a pair of Ginocchio towed anti-submarine torpedoes, but these were a failure and were never used in combat.[16]
Space was reserved for an unsuccessful French
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Forward 130 mm guns in superfiring single mounts 130 mm (5.1 in) Mle 1919 guns, main telemeter and searchlights on top of the bridge
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Forward triple torpedo tube behind the funnel
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Mid-section, with the middle 130mm gun, two anti-air canons de 75 mm modèle 1924, and rear torpedo tubes
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Stern, with the aft 130 mm guns in superfiring single mounts
Ships
Ship | Builder [18] | Laid down[18]
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Launched[19]
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Commissioned[18] | Fate |
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Chacal | Ateliers et Chantiers de Penhoët, Saint-Nazaire
|
18 September 1923 | 27 September 1924 | 12 June 1926 | Sunk off Boulogne-sur-Mer by German aircraft, 24 May 1940[4] |
Jaguar | Arsenal de Lorient
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24 August 1922 | 17 November 1923 | 24 July 1926 | Beached and wrecked after torpedoed by a German E-boat near Dunkirk, 23 May 1940[4] |
Léopard | Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire, Saint-Nazaire | 14 August 1923 | 29 September 1924 | 10 October 1927 | Run aground and wrecked, 27 May 1943[4] |
Lynx | 14 January 1924 | 25 February 1925 | Scuttled at Toulon, 27 November 1942[4] | ||
Panthère | Arsenal de Lorient | 23 December 1923 | 27 October 1924 | 10 October 1926 | Scuttled by Italy, 9 September 1943[4] |
Tigre | Ateliers et Chantiers de Bretagne, Nantes | 28 September 1923 | 2 August 1924 | 1 February 1926 | Scrapped, 1955[20] |
Service
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ef/L%C3%A9opard_X22_SAS2009-10-116.jpg/220px-L%C3%A9opard_X22_SAS2009-10-116.jpg)
The first three ships to be commissioned, Tigre, Chacal, and Panthère, were assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron at Toulon, and the last three were assigned to the Second Squadron (2ème Escadre) at Brest. The ships made many port visits and participated in several naval reviews during the 1920s and early 1930s. Several even made visits to French West Africa and the French West Indies in the early 1930s. Jaguar served as the flagship of several different destroyer (torpilleur d'escadre) flotillas from 1928 to 1937. The Chacal-class ships started to become dedicated training ships beginning in 1932 and continued to do so until the beginning of World War II.[21]
Jaguar, Léopard and Panthère were assigned to the Northern Command (Forces maritimes du Nord) on 7 September in anticipation of a German invasion of Belgium. They proved, however, to be too large and unmaneuverable for operations in the shallow waters of the English Channel and
When the Germans invaded France on 10 May 1940, Panthère was being refitted at Toulon and her sisters were still escorting convoys. Jaguar, Léopard and Chacal were assigned to the Northern Command on 22 May to support Allied forces on the French coast. Jaguar was sunk the next day off Dunkirk and Chacal on the evening of 23/24 May near Boulogne by German bombers.
Léopard escorted convoys in the
In July 1940, Lynx and Tigre were present when the British attacked the French ships at Mers-el-Kébir, but managed to escape without damage.[27] After they reaching Toulon, the sisters were placed in reserve, together with Panthère, as the oldest contre-torpilleurs in service and stripped of their light anti-aircraft armament.[28] On 27 November 1942, Lynx was scuttled when the Germans attempted to capture the French ships at Toulon, but Panthère and Tigre were captured virtually intact. They were turned over to the Royal Italian Navy (Regia Marina) who renamed them FR 22 and FR 23, respectively, when they recommissioned them in early 1943. They were being used as transports when Italy surrendered in September; FR 22 (Panthère) was scuttled by the Italians, but FR 23 (Tigre) managed to escape and join the Allies.[29]
Tigre resumed her former name and was given to the Free French the following month, but she needed extensive repairs that lasted until early 1944. The ship returned to convoy work for a few months before beginning a more extensive reconstruction that lasted until early 1945. She was then assigned to the Flank Force that protected Allied forces in the
Notes
- ^ Jordan & Moulin, pp. 12–17
- ^ Jordan & Moulin, pp. 18–20
- ^ Jordan & Moulin, p. 22
- ^ a b c d e f Chesneau, p. 267
- ^ Jordan & Moulin, pp. 22–23
- ^ Jordan & Moulin, pp. 25, 35
- ^ Jordan & Moulin, pp. 18, 22–27, 35
- ^ a b Jordan & Moulin, pp. 27–28
- ^ Campbell, p. 302
- ^ Jordan & Moulin, pp. 35–36
- ^ Jordan & Moulin, pp. 28, 38
- ^ Jordan & Moulin, pp. 29–30
- ^ Campbell, p. 306
- ^ Jordan & Moulin, pp. 29–30, 38–40
- ^ Campbell, p. 313
- ^ Jordan & Moulin, pp. 30–33, 38–39
- ^ Jordan & Moulin, pp. 32–33, 39
- ^ a b c Whitley, p. 36
- ^ Jordan & Moulin, p. 20
- ^ Jordan & Moulin, p. 282
- ^ Jordan & Moulin, pp. 206–18
- ^ Jordan & Moulin, pp. 223–25
- ^ Jordan & Moulin, pp. 39–40, 227–231
- ^ Smith, p. 27
- ^ Whitley, p. 37
- ^ Jordan & Moulin, pp. 250–51
- ^ Jordan & Dumas, p. 83
- ^ Jordan & Moulin, p. 232
- ^ Brescia, p. 135; Cernuschi & O'Hara, p. 143; Jordan & Moulin, pp. 248–49; Whitley, pp. 37, 186
- ^ Jordan & Moulin, pp. 258–59, 262, 264, 267, 282; Whitley, p. 37
References
- Brescia, Maurizio (2012). Mussolini's Navy: A Reference Guide to the Regina Marina 1930–45. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-544-8.
- Campbell, John (1985). Naval Weapons of World War II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-459-4.
- Cernuschi, Enrico & O'Hara, Vincent P. (2013). "Toulon: The Self-Destruction and Salvage of the French Fleet". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2013. London: Conway. pp. 134–48. ISBN 978-1-84486-205-4.
- Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
- Jordan, John & Dumas, Robert (2009). French Battleships: 1922–1956. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-416-8.
- Jordan, John & Moulin, Jean (2015). French Destroyers: Torpilleurs d'Escadre & Contre-Torpilleurs 1922–1956. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-198-4.
- Smith, Peter C. (2007). Naval Warfare in the English Channel 1939–1945. Barnsley, Yorkshire, UK: Pen & Sword Maritime. ISBN 978-1-84415-580-4.
- Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1.