Guépard-class destroyer

Guépard class destroyer
Class overview
Name:	Guépard class
Operators:	French Navy  Regia Marina  Kriegsmarine
Preceded by:	Chacal class
Succeeded by:	Aigle class
Built:	1927–1931
In commission:	1929–1945
Completed:	6
Lost:	6
General characteristics (as built)
Type:	Destroyer
Displacement:	2,436 t (2,398 long tons) (standard) 3,220 t (3,170 long tons) (full load)
Length:	130.2 m (427 ft 2.0 in)
Beam:	11.5 m (37 ft 8.8 in)
Draft:	4.3 m (14 ft 1.3 in)
Installed power:	64,000 PS (47,000 kW; 63,000 shp) 4 du Temple boilers
Propulsion:	2 shafts 2 geared steam turbines
Speed:	35.5 knots (65.7 km/h; 40.9 mph)
Range:	3,000 nmi (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 14.5 knots (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph)
Crew:	12 officers, 224 crewmen (wartime)
Armament:	5 × single 138.6 mm (5.5 in) guns 4 × single 37 mm (1.5 in) anti-aircraft guns 2 × triple 550 mm (21.7 in) torpedo tubes 2 chutes; 4 throwers for 28 depth charges

The Guépard-class destroyers (contre-torpilleurs) were six ships of the French Navy, laid down in 1927 and commissioned in 1930. They were similar to the previous Chacal class, with a larger hull and with a slightly improved speed and gun armament with 138 mm guns of a new design. The first three ships bore 'animal' names like the Chacals, while the remaining three were given names starting with V, for two battles and a field-marshal. The class saw action in World War II.

Ships

• Bison^[1]

Built by Arsenal de Lorient.

Completed 10 October 1930.

She was sunk by German Junkers Ju 87 Stukas while taking part in the evacuation of Namsos, on 3 May 1940, off Trondheim. Out of 229 members on the crew, 136 were lost.^[2] Survivors from Bison were picked up by HMS Afridi, which was then also sunk by the Stukas.

• Guépard ("Cheetah")^[3]

Built by Arsenal de Lorient.

Completed 13 August 1929,

Scuttled 27 November 1942.

Refloated 4 September 1943.

Bombed and sunk March 1944.

Refloated 1947 and broken up.

• Lion^[4]

Built by Ateliers et Chantiers de France, Dunkirk.

Completed 21 January 1931.

Seized by Germans 27 November 1942.

Given to Italy and entered service as FR 21.

Scuttled La Spezia 9 September 1943.

• Valmy (named after the battle of Valmy)^[5]

Built by Ateliers et Chantiers de St Nazaire-Penhoët, St. Nazaire

Completed 1 January 1930.

Seized by Germans 27 November 1942.

Refloated 15 March 1943 and began refit as Italian Navy FR 24

Captured by Germans at Savona September 1943

Wreck found at Genoa 1945 and broken up.

• Verdun (named after the battle of Verdun)^[6]

Built by Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire, St Nazaire.

Completed 1 April 1930.

Scuttled 27 November 1942.

Refloated 29 September 1943.

Bombed and sunk 1944

Refloated 1948 and broken up in Italy.

• Vauban (named after Marshal Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban)^[7]

Built by Ateliers et Chantiers de France, Dunkirk.

Completed 9 January 1931.

Scuttled 27 November 1942.

Refloated 12 May 1947 and broken up.

Notes

1. Helgason, Guðmundur (2013). "Bison". uboat.net. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
2. Charles Hocking (1990). Dictionary of Disasters at Sea During The Age of Steam. The London Stamp Exchange, London. p. 87. ISBN 0-948130-68-7.
3. Helgason, Guðmundur (2013). "Guepard". uboat.net. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
4. Helgason, Guðmundur (2013). "Lion". uboat.net. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
5. Helgason, Guðmundur (2013). "Valmy". uboat.net. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
6. Helgason, Guðmundur (2013). "Verdun". uboat.net. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
7. Helgason, Guðmundur (2013). "Vauban". uboat.net. Retrieved 22 March 2013.

References

• Saibène, Marc (n.d.). Toulon et la Marine 1942-1944. Bourg en Bresse: Marines Editions at Realisations.
• Whitley, M.J. (1988). Destroyers of World War 2. London, England: Cassell Publishing. ISBN 1-85409-521-8.
• Guepard-class at uboat.net