Fantasque-class destroyer
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The ''Le Fantasque'' class of six large, very fast destroyers was ordered under the French naval programme of 1930. They served in
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for both
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and the
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.


Design and description

The ''Le Fantasque''-class ships were designed to counter the fast Italian
light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...
s, and one member of the class, , exceeded during trials to set a world record for a conventionally-
hulled Husk (or hull) in botany is the outer shell or coating of a seed. In the United States, the term husk often refers to the leafy outer covering of an ear of maize (corn) as it grows on the plant. Literally, a husk or hull includes the protective ...
ship. They had an
overall length The overall length (OAL) of an ammunition cartridge is a measurement from the base of the brass shell casing to the tip of the bullet, seated into the brass casing. Cartridge overall length, or "COL", is important to safe functioning of reloads in ...
of , a
beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...
of , and a
draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...
of . The ships displaced at
standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...
and at
deep load The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...
. The crew of the ''Le Fantasque'' class consisted of 11 officers and 221 crewmen in peacetime and the number of the latter increasing to 254 in wartime. The ships were powered by two geared Rateau-Breguet or
Parsons Parsons may refer to: Places In the United States: * Parsons, Kansas, a city * Parsons, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Parsons, Tennessee, a city * Parsons, West Virginia, a town * Camp Parsons, a Boy Scout camp in the state of Washingto ...
steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...
s, each driving one three-bladed
propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...
, using steam provided by four
water-tube boiler A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-gene ...
s with
superheater A superheater is a device used to convert saturated steam or wet steam into superheated steam or dry steam. Superheated steam is used in steam turbines for electricity generation, steam engines, and in processes such as steam reforming. There ar ...
s that operated at a pressure of and a temperature of . The turbines were designed to produce which was intended give the ships a speed of . During their
sea trial A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...
s, each of the ships greatly exceeded their designed speed, ranging from from . They carried a maximum of of
fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bun ...
which gave them a range of at ; the Parsons-equipped ships were more economical. The ships were fitted with two
turbo generator A turbo generator is an electric generator connected to the shaft of a steam turbine or gas turbine for the generation of electric power. Large steam-powered turbo generators provide the majority of the world's electricity and are also used b ...
s in the
engine room On a ship, the engine room (ER) is the compartment where the machinery for marine propulsion is located. To increase a vessel's safety and chances of surviving damage, the machinery necessary for the ship's operation may be segregated into vari ...
s. In addition, a pair of
diesel generator A diesel generator (DG) (also known as a diesel Genset) is the combination of a diesel engine with an electric generator (often an alternator) to generate electrical energy. This is a specific case of engine generator. A diesel compression- ...
s were located in the aft engine room.


Armament and fire control

The main armament of the ''Le Fantasque''s consisted of five 50-
caliber In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge (firearms) , bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the f ...
''Canon de'' ''Modèle'' 1929 guns in single shielded mounts, one
superfiring Superfiring armament is a naval military building technique in which two (or more) turrets are located in a line, one behind the other, with the second turret located above ("super") the one in front so that the second turret can fire over the ...
pair fore and aft of the
superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...
and the fifth gun
abaft This glossary of nautical terms is an alphabetical listing of terms and expressions connected with ships, shipping, seamanship and navigation on water (mostly though not necessarily on the sea). Some remain current, while many date from the 17th t ...
the aft
funnel A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its construct ...
. Their mounts had a range of
elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...
from −10° to +30°, which gave the guns a range of at maximum elevation. They fired projectiles at a
muzzle velocity Muzzle velocity is the speed of a projectile (bullet, pellet, slug, ball/shots or shell) with respect to the muzzle at the moment it leaves the end of a gun's barrel (i.e. the muzzle). Firearm muzzle velocities range from approximately to i ...
of at a rate of 8 to 12 rounds per minute. The ''Le Fantasque''s could stow 200 rounds for each gun, plus 75
star shell A shell, in a military context, is a projectile whose payload contains an explosive, incendiary, or other chemical filling. Originally it was called a bombshell, but "shell" has come to be unambiguous in a military context. Modern usage so ...
s. Their
anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
(AA) armament consisted of two 50-caliber semi-automatic ''Modèle'' 1925 AA guns in single mounts positioned
amidships This glossary of nautical terms is an alphabetical listing of terms and expressions connected with ships, shipping, seamanship and navigation on water (mostly though not necessarily on the sea). Some remain current, while many date from the 17th t ...
. Their mounts could elevate from −15° to +80° and the guns had a maximum effective range of . Firing projectiles at a
rate of fire Rate of fire is the frequency at which a specific weapon can fire or launch its projectiles. This can be influenced by several factors, including operator training level, mechanical limitations, ammunition availability, and weapon condition. In m ...
of 20 rounds per minute. In addition there were two twin-gun mounts for Hotchkiss ''Mitrailleuse de'' CA ''Modèle 1929'' AA
machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...
s aft of the 37 mm mounts. The ships carried three above-water triple sets of
torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s; the aft mount could traverse to both sides, but the forward mounts were positioned one on each
broadside Broadside or broadsides may refer to: Naval * Broadside (naval), terminology for the side of a ship, the battery of cannon on one side of a warship, or their near simultaneous fire on naval warfare Printing and literature * Broadside (comic ...
. Their Mle 1923DT torpedoes had a
TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
warhead A warhead is the forward section of a device that contains the explosive agent or toxic (biological, chemical, or nuclear) material that is delivered by a missile, rocket, torpedo, or bomb. Classification Types of warheads include: * Explosiv ...
and could be set for a speed of with a range of or for . A pair of
depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...
chutes were built into their stern; these housed a total of sixteen depth charges with another dozen available in the torpedo
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. The ships could be fitted with rails to drop forty Breguet B4 mines. Fire control for the main guns was provided by a Mle 1929 electro-mechanical fire-control computer that used data provided by a OPL/SOM SJ.1
stereoscopic rangefinder A stereoscopic rangefinder or stereoscopic telemeter is an optical device that measures distance from the observer to a target, using the observer's capability of binocular vision. It looks similar to a coincidence rangefinder, which uses differen ...
atop the
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
. The ''Le Fantasque'' class ships were the first s to be fitted with a prototype remote-control gunnery system that was intended to automatically lay the guns on the target while compensating for the ship's motions. The electric motors were insufficiently sensitive and often overcompensated, while the circuit breakers for the elevation motors often tripped when trying to use the system while the ships were
rolling Rolling is a type of motion that combines rotation (commonly, of an axially symmetric object) and translation of that object with respect to a surface (either one or the other moves), such that, if ideal conditions exist, the two are in contact ...
heavily, taking the system off-line. A pair of OPL Mle J.1930 high-angle stereoscopic rangefinders were mounted on the superstructure amidships to control the anti-aircraft guns.


Modifications

In late 1936 the Mle 1929 computers were upgraded and the high-angle rangefinders amidships were replaced by OPL J4.1935 models during 1937. In December 1938 and April 1939, the Hotchkiss machine guns were transferred to newly built platforms on each side of the bridge and the OPL Mle J.1930 rangefinders formerly positioned amidships were installed on the bridge to control them. Development of the originally intended twin-gun mounts for the automatic 70-caliber Canon de 37 mm Modèle 1935 AA guns was completed three years late and they replaced the single-gun mounts between January and May 1940. Beginning in September the ships still in French hands were equipped with one or two Browning 13.2-millimeter anti-aircraft machine guns mounted on the
quarterdeck The quarterdeck is a raised deck behind the main mast of a sailing ship. Traditionally it was where the captain commanded his vessel and where the ship's colours were kept. This led to its use as the main ceremonial and reception area on bo ...
. In 1941–1942 the quarterdeck guns were transferred to positions forward of the bridge and the Hotchkiss machine guns were repositioned on new platforms on the center superstructure. The ships had the aft superstructure remodeled at the same time to create a platform atop the aft ammunition hoists and platforms on each side for 37 mm guns. The twin-gun mounts was repositioned on the upper platform and one of the lower platforms while the other one was occupied by a single mount as there was a shortage of twin-gun mounts. After the war began in September 1939, the depth-charge stowage aboard the ''Le Fantasque''s increased to 48. In addition the mine rails were replaced by a pair of rails for depth charges. Each rail could accommodate 3 depth charges and 15 more were stored in the magazine. In 1942 the four undamaged ships still under Vichy French control were given Alpha-2
sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...
systems in cases. Based on the British Type 128 Asdic system, they could not be installed until the hull was modified to accommodate the required flexible underwater dome which was scheduled for the following year.


In Free French service

had been seized by the British in July 1940 and was turned over to the Free French. Later that year her aft superfiring 138.6 mm gun replaced by a British 4-inch (102 mm) Mk V AA gun and a Type 128 Asdic system was installed. The 35 kg depth charges and their rails were removed and the ship was fitted with four Modèle 1918 depth-charge throwers abreast the aft superstructure for depth charges. During a subsequent refit in mid-1941, the Hotchkiss machine guns were relocated to positions on the forecastle deck and their former positions were occupied by single mounts for 2-pounder () Mk II AA guns. A quadruple mount for Hotchkiss machine guns taken from the battleship was installed atop the aft superstructure and rails for British Mk VIIH depth charges were installed on the stern. A fixed antenna for a Type 286M
search radar This is a list of different types of radar. Detection and search radars Search radars scan great volumes of space with pulses of short radio waves. They typically scan the volume two to four times a minute. The waves are usually less than a meter ...
was also installed. A late 1942 refit in Australia exchanged the 13.2 mm machine guns for six Oerlikon light AA guns and the Type 286M radar was replaced by a Type 290 system with a rotating antenna. While ''Le Triomphant'' was en route to the United States in 1944 for a comprehensive refit, its British Mk V AA gun was replaced by a 138.6 mm gun from . The Americans installed SA early-warning, SF surface-search and a British Type 285
fire-control radar A fire-control radar (FCR) is a radar that is designed specifically to provide information (mainly target azimuth, elevation, range and range rate) to a fire-control system in order to direct weapons such that they hit a target. They are sometim ...
, removed her aft torpedo tubes to save weight and converted some
boiler feedwater Boiler feedwater is an essential part of boiler operations. The feed water is put into the steam drum from a feed pump. In the steam drum the feed water is then turned into steam from the heat. After the steam is used it is then dumped to the ma ...
tanks to fuel oil to improve her range. Her AA armament had been removed earlier and now consisted of six Bofors guns in twin-gun mount and eleven Oerlikon guns in single mounts. In early 1943 and were similarly refitted in the United States although their anti-aircraft armament consisted of eight Bofors guns in one quadruple and two twin-gun mounts and eight Oerlikon guns in single mounts. After repairing damage suffered during the
Naval Battle of Casablanca The Naval Battle of Casablanca was a series of naval engagements fought between United States Navy, American ships covering the Operation Torch, invasion of North Africa and Vichy France, Vichy French ships defending the Neutrality (international ...
in November 1942 followed her sisters to the United States and was similarly refitted. In 1944–1945, the supplies of the French 200 kg depth charges began to run out so the depth charge chutes were sealed off and rails for Mk VIIIH depth charges were added to those ships that lacked them. In December 1944, ''Le Malin'' had her worn-out Mle 1929 guns replaced by salvaged Mle 1927 guns.Jordan & Moulin, pp. 268–273


Ships


Notes


References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fantasque-class destroyer World War II destroyers of France Destroyer classes Ship classes of the French Navy