French destroyer Panthère

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Panthère in Marseille, April 1927
History
France
NamePanthère
NamesakePanther
Ordered18 April 1922
Builder
Arsenal de Lorient
Way numberNo. 7
Laid down23 December 1923
Launched27 October 1924
Completed4 January 1927
Commissioned1 November 1926
DecommissionedJuly 1940
In service4 February 1927
Captured27 November 1942
Kingdom of Italy
NameFR 22
AcquiredAfter 27 November 1942
Commissioned19 January 1943
FateScuttled and later scrapped, 9 September 1943
General characteristics (as built)
Class and typeChacal-class destroyer
Displacement
  • 2,126 t (2,092 long tons) (standard)
  • 2,980–3,075 t (2,933–3,026 long tons) (
    full load
    )
Length126.8 m (416 ft 0.1 in)
Beam11.1 m (36 ft 5.0 in)
Draft4.1 m (13 ft 5.4 in)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed35.5 knots (65.7 km/h; 40.9 mph)
Range3,000 nmi (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Crew12 officers, 209 crewmen (wartime)
Armament

The French destroyer Panthère was a

scuttled
and was captured virtually intact.

The Germans later turned her over to the

Royal Italian Navy (Regia Marina) who renamed her FR 22 when they recommissioned her in early 1943. The ship was scuttled when Italy surrendered in September and scrapped
after the war.

Design and description

The Chacal-class ships were designed to counter the large Italian

kW; 49,000 shp), which would propel the ship at 35.5 knots (65.7 km/h; 40.9 mph). During her sea trials on 20 April 1927, Panthère's turbines provided 56,900 metric horsepower (41,800 kW; 56,100 shp) and she reached 35.7 knots (66.1 km/h; 41.1 mph) for a single hour. The ships carried 530 metric tons (522 long tons) of fuel oil which gave them a range of 3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). Their crew consisted of 10 officers and 187 crewmen in peacetime and 12 officers and 209 enlisted men in wartime.[3]

The main armament of the Chacal-class ships consisted of five

amidships. The ships carried two above-water triple sets of 550-millimeter (21.7 in) torpedo tubes. A pair of depth charge chutes were built into their stern; these housed a total of twenty 200-kilogram (440 lb) depth charges. They were also fitted with four depth-charge throwers for which they carried a dozen 100-kilogram (220 lb) depth charges.[4]

Construction and career

Panthère, named after the

Marseilles. The ship was also present when he next reviewed the fleet on 3 July 1928 off Le Havre.[5] On 9 October 1928, Panthère got underway from Toulon with Chacal and Tigre to search for the missing submarine Ondine.[6]

Together with

anti-aircraft machineguns.[8]

When the war started in September 1939, Panthère was still assigned to the 4th DCT with her sisters

French Morocco, and Le Verdon-sur-Mer. In October – December, two depth-charge throwers were reinstalled, No. 3 gun removed, and her depth charge stowage reduced to a dozen 200 kg and eight 100 kg depth charges to improve her stability.[9]

In May 1940, Panthère began a refit at Toulon that included the addition of piping between the

AA gun. When France surrendered on 22 June, she was still being worked on and only one propeller shaft was available. Shortly afterwards, the ship was reduced to reserve with only a skeleton crew aboard and her anti-aircraft guns were transferred to more modern ships.[10]

On 27 November 1942, the ship was captured almost intact by the Germans when they occupied Toulon and was turned over to the Italians on 14 December. The Regia Marina redesignated her as FR 22 and she recommissioned on 19 January 1943 after Pierre Laval, head of Vichy France, agreed to transfer her on 11 January; she sailed to Taranto on 23 March where the Italians used her as a transport in Italian waters. The ship's most notable mission was when she transported former Italian Premier Benito Mussolini from Ponza Island to La Maddalena, Sardinia on 6 August. The ship was scuttled at La Spezia on 9 September 1943 following the Italian armistice and broken up after the war.[11]

Notes

  1. ^ The 9th DL went through a series of redesignations over the next few years. It became the 11th DL on 1 October 1934, the 1st DCT on 12 April 1937 and the 4th DCT on 15 September 1938.[7]

Citations

  1. ^ Jordan & Moulin, p. 22
  2. ^ Chesneau, p. 267
  3. ^ Jordan & Moulin, pp. 18, 22–27
  4. ^ Jordan & Moulin, pp. 27–33
  5. ^ Jordan & Moulin, pp. 20–21, 206, 209–11, 213–14
  6. ^ Sous-Marins Français Disparus & Accidents: Sous-Marin Ondine (in French) Accessed 14 October 2022
  7. ^ Jordan & Moulin, p. 217
  8. ^ Jordan & Moulin, pp. 38, 210–11, 213, 217
  9. ^ Jordan & Moulin, pp. 39, 225, 231
  10. ^ Jordan & Moulin, pp. 39–40, 231
  11. ^ Brescia, p. 135; Cernuschi & O'Hara, p. 143; Jordan & Moulin, pp. 248–49

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
    .
  • 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 & Moulin, Jean (2015). French Destroyers: Torpilleurs d'Escadre & Contre-Torpilleurs 1922–1956. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing.
    ISBN 978-1-84832-198-4
    .
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