French destroyer Typhon
Sister ship Ouragan underway before 1942
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History | |
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France | |
Name | Typhon |
Namesake | Typhoon |
Ordered | 5 March 1923 |
Builder | Forges et Chantiers de la Gironde, Bordeaux |
Laid down | 1 September 1923 |
Launched | 22 May 1925 |
Completed | 27 June 1928 |
Commissioned | 15 February 1928 |
In service | 22 October 1928 |
Fate | Scuttled 9 November 1942 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Bourrasque-class destroyer |
Displacement |
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Length | 105.6 m (346 ft 5.5 in) |
Beam | 9.7 m (31 ft 9.9 in) |
Draft | 3.5 m (11 ft 5.8 in) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed | 33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph) |
Range | 3,000 nmi (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
Crew | 9 officers, 153 crewmen (wartime) |
Armament |
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Typhon was a Bourrasque-class destroyer (torpilleur d'escadre) built for the French Navy during the 1920s.
After France surrendered to Germany in June 1940 during World War II, Typhon served with the navy of Vichy France.
Design and description
The Bourrasque class had an
kW; 30,576 shp), which would propel the ship at 33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph). The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).[1]
The main armament of the Bourrasque-class ships consisted of four
stern that housed a total of sixteen 200-kilogram (440 lb) depth charges.[1]
Construction and career
She was at
HMS Hartland from very short distance, sinking her in the harbour in a matter of minutes, when the Allied vessel was in the process of landing American troops.[2][3] Later in the morning, Typhon and her sister ships Tramontane and Tornade steamed away in an attempt to attack Allied naval forces at Arzew Bay. The destroyer squadron was met with heavy fire by the British cruiser HMS Aurora. Typhon launched all her six torpedoes at the cruiser to no avail; her sisters were repeatedly hit by 6in shells. Tramontane was sunk and Tornade ran aground, while Typhoon returned to port with half her ammunition expended and without torpedoes, all of them launched at Aurora to no avail. Tramontane's survivors were also aboard. Typhon confronted the Allies once again on 9 November, this time with her sister Epervier. The destroyer attack was beaten off by the British cruisers Jamaica and Aurora; Epervier was hit and beached herself, while Typhon sailed back to Oran, where she was eventually scuttled by her own crew on 10 November 1942.[4][5]
Notes
- ^ a b Jordan & Moulin, p. 41
- ISBN 978-1612519227.
- ISBN 978-1472814401.
- ^ "FR Typhon of the French Navy - French Destroyer of the Bourrasque class - Allied Warships of WWII - uboat.net". uboat.net. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
- ISBN 978-1848323605.
References
- 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.
- ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
- ISBN 0-87021-326-1.