The French destroyer Frondeur was one of 14 L'Adroit-class destroyers built for the French Navy during the 1920s.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Frondeur |
| Ordered | 21 April 1927 |
| Builder | Chantiers Navals Français, Caen |
| Laid down | 9 November 1927 |
| Launched | 20 June 1929 |
| Completed | 20 October 1931 |
| Fate | Sunk during the Naval Battle of Casablanca, 8 November 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | L'Adroit-class destroyer |
| Displacement | 1,380 t (1,360 long tons) (standard) |
| Length | 107.2 m (351 ft 8 in) |
| Beam | 9.9 m (32 ft 6 in) |
| Draft | 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| 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 |
|
Design and description
editThe L'Adroit class was a slightly enlarged and improved version of the preceding Bourrasque class. The ships had an overall length of 107.2 meters (351 ft 8 in), a beam of 9.9 meters (32 ft 6 in), and a draft of 3.5 meters (11 ft 6 in). The ships displaced 1,380 metric tons (1,360 long tons) at standard load and 2,000 metric tons (2,000 long tons) at deep load. Fougueux was powered by two Zoelly-Schneider 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 ships at 33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph). The ships carried 386 metric tons (380 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). The crew numbered 8 officers and 134 crewmen in peacetime and 9 officers and 153 crewmen during wartime.[1]
The main armament of the L'Adroit-class ships consisted of four Canon de 130 mm (5.1 in) mm Modèle 1924 guns in single mounts, one superfiring pair each fore and aft of the superstructure. Their anti-aircraft armament consisted of a pair of Canon de 37 mm (1.5 in) mm Modèle 1925 guns, one mount on each broadside abreast the rear superstructure. For defense against strafing aircraft the ships were equipped with a pair of mounts for two or four 8-millimeter (0.315 in) Hotchkiss Mle 1914 machine guns abreast the bridge. 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. In addition two Thornycroft depth-charge throwers were fitted at the end of the forecastle for which six 100-kilogram (220 lb) depth charges were carried.[2]
Construction and career
editFrondeur was laid down on 9 November 1927, launched on 20 June 1929 and completed on 20 October 1931.
After France surrendered to Germany in June 1940 during World War II, Frondeur served with the naval force of Vichy France. She was at Casablanca, French Morocco, when Allied forces invaded French North Africa in Operation Torch in November 1942. Resisting the invasion, she was sunk by gunfire from the American cruiser USS Brooklyn off Casablanca during the Naval Battle of Casablanca.[3][4]
Notes
edit- ^ Jordan & Moulin, pp. 62, 66
- ^ Jordan & Moulin, pp. 62–66
- ^ "FR Frondeur of the French Navy". Uboat. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
- ^ assauxmarins-communication. "NOVEMBRE 1942 -OPERATION TORCH- DRAME POUR LA MARINE - Le blog de l'association Aux Marins". Le blog de l'association Aux Marins (in French). Retrieved 23 June 2024.
References
edit- Jordan, John & Dumas, Robert (2009). French Battleships: 1922–1956. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-416-8.
- Jordan, John & Moulin, Jean (2015). French Destroyers: Torpilleurs d'Escadre & Contre-Torpilleurs 1922–1956. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-198-4.
- O'Hara, Vincent P. (2015). Torch: North Africa and the Allied Path to Victory. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-61251-922-7.
- Roberts, John (1980). "France". In Chesneau, Roger (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. New York: Mayflower Books. pp. 255–279. ISBN 0-8317-0303-2.
- 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.