![]() Sister ship Ouragan underway before 1942
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History | |
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Name | Trombe |
Namesake | Whirlwind |
Ordered | 5 March 1923 |
Builder | Forges et Chantiers de la Gironde, Bordeaux |
Laid down | 5 March 1924 |
Launched | 27 December 1925 |
Completed | 27 October 1927 |
Commissioned | 1 June 1927 |
In service | 21 December 1927 |
Fate | Damaged beyond repair April 16, 1945 |
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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Trombe was a Bourrasque-class destroyer (torpilleur d'escadre) built for the French Navy during the 1920s.
Design and description
[edit]The Bourrasque class had an overall length of 105.6 meters (346 ft 5 in), a beam of 9.7 meters (31 ft 10 in), and a draft of 3.5 meters (11 ft 6 in). The ships displaced 1,320 metric tons (1,300 long tons) at (standard) load and 1,825 metric tons (1,796 long tons) at deep load. They were powered by two geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by three du Temple boilers. The turbines were designed to produce 31,000 metric horsepower (22,800 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 Canon de 130 mm (5.1 in) Modèle 1919 guns in shielded single mounts, one superfiring pair each fore and aft of the superstructure. Their anti-aircraft (AA) armament consisted of a single Canon de 75 mm (3 in) Modèle 1924 gun. The ships carried two triple mounts of 550-millimeter (21.7 in) torpedo tubes amidships. A pair of depth charge chutes were built into their stern that housed a total of sixteen 200-kilogram (440 lb) depth charges.[1]
Construction and career
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Scuttled_Le_Hardi_class_NH_110745.tiff/lossy-page1-220px-Scuttled_Le_Hardi_class_NH_110745.tiff.jpg)
After France surrendered to Germany in June 1940 during World War II, Trombe served with the navy of Vichy France. She was among the ships of the French fleet scuttled at Toulon, France, on 27 November 1942. She later was salvaged and repaired by the Regia Marina (Italian Royal Navy), who christened the ship FR 31. When the Armistice of Cassibile was signed, the repairs were still underway and Free France requested the return of the vessel upon completion of the work. On October 28, 1943, the Trombe moved to Bizerte, once again under French command.
On April 16, 1945, off the coast of Liguria, the Trombe came under attack by a MT explosive motorboat and MTSM motor torpedo boat of the Marina Nazionale Repubblicana. MTM 548 struck the Trombe starboard, killing 20 men and causing severe damage. She was successfully towed to Toulon, where the damaged was ruled irreparable. The Trombe was stricken and scrapped in 1950.[2]
Notes
[edit]- ^ a b Jordan & Moulin, p. 41
- ^ "FR Trombe of the French Navy - French Destroyer of the Bourrasque class - Allied Warships of WWII - uboat.net".
References
[edit]- 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. 134–148. 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.
- Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
- Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1.