Sister ship Ouragan underway before 1942
History
France
NameTyphon
NamesakeTyphoon
Ordered5 March 1923
BuilderForges et Chantiers de la Gironde, Bordeaux
Laid down1 September 1923
Launched22 May 1925
Completed27 June 1928
Commissioned15 February 1928
In service22 October 1928
FateScuttled 9 November 1942
General characteristics
Class and typeBourrasque-class destroyer
Displacement
  • 1,320 t (1,300 long tons) (standard)
  • 1,825 t (1,796 long tons) (full load)
Length105.6 m (346 ft 5.5 in)
Beam9.7 m (31 ft 9.9 in)
Draft3.5 m (11 ft 5.8 in)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph)
Range3,000 nmi (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Crew9 officers, 153 crewmen (wartime)
Armament

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 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

She was at Oran, French Algeria, as part of the 7th Destroyer Squadron of the Marine Nationale when the Allies invaded French North Africa in Operation Torch in November 1942. On 8 November 1942, Typhon engaged the British cutter 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

  1. 1 2 Jordan & Moulin, p. 41
  2. ↑ O'Hara, Vincent (2015). Torch: North Africa and the Allied Path to Victory. Naval Institute Press. p. 122. ISBN 978-1612519227.
  3. ↑ Walling, Michael G. (2017). Bloodstained Sands: U.S. Amphibious Operations in World War II. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 102. ISBN 978-1472814401.
  4. ↑ "FR Typhon of the French Navy - French Destroyer of the Bourrasque class - Allied Warships of WWII - uboat.net". uboat.net. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  5. ↑ Moulin, Jean; Jordan, John (2015). French Destroyers: Torpilleurs d'Escadre and Contre-Torpilleurs,1922–1956. Seaforth Publishing. p. 245. 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.
  • 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.
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