French destroyer Siroco

History
France
Name:	Siroco
Namesake:	Sirocco
Ordered:	4 April 1923
Builder:	Ateliers et Chantiers de Saint-Nazaire Penhoët, Saint-Nazaire
Laid down:	15 March 1924
Launched:	3 October 1925
Completed:	1 July 1927
In service:	5 February 1928
Fate:	Sunk, 31 May 1940
General characteristics
Class and type:	Bourrasque-class destroyer
Displacement:	1,320 t (1,300 long tons) (standard) 1,825 t (1,796 long tons) (full load)
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:	31,000 PS (22,800 kW; 30,576 shp) 3 du Temple boilers
Propulsion:	2 shafts 2 geared steam turbines
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:	4 × single 130 mm (5.1 in) guns 1 × single 75 mm (3.0 in) anti-aircraft guns 2 × triple 550 mm (21.7 in) torpedo tubes 2 chutes for 16 depth charges

Siroco was a Bourrasque-class destroyer (torpilleur d'escadre) built for the French Navy during the 1920s.

Design and description

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 360 metric tons (354 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).^[1]

The main armament of the Bourrasque-class ships consisted of four Canon de 130 mm Modèle 1919 guns in single mounts, one superfiring pair fore and aft of the superstructure. Their anti-aircraft armament consisted of a single Canon de 75 mm Modèle 1924 gun. 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 sixteen 200-kilogram (440 lb) depth charges.^[1]

Construction and career

Siroco was torpedoed and sunk by the German S-boats S-23 and S-26 off West Hinder light vessel on 31 May 1940.^[2]

Notes

1. Jordan & Moulin, p. 41
2. Le Masson, Henri (1969). The French Navy Volume One. London: MacDonald. p. 125. ISBN 0356 02384 2.

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.
• Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1.