Siroco was a Bourrasque-class destroyer (torpilleur d'escadre) built for the French Navy during the 1920s.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Siroco |
| Namesake | Sirocco |
| Ordered | 4 April 1923 |
| Builder | Ateliers et Chantiers de 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 |
|
| 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 |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| 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 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
editSiroco was torpedoed and sunk by the German S-boats S-23 and S-26 off West Hinder light vessel on 31 May 1940 while participating in the Dunkirk evacuation.[2] Of 930 troops and crew aboard, 660 were killed.[3] The flag of the French Army's 92nd Infantry Regiment was lost in the sinking.[4]
Notes
edit- ^ a b Jordan & Moulin, p. 41
- ^ Le Masson, Henri (1969). The French Navy Volume One. London: MacDonald. p. 125. ISBN 0356-02384-2.
- ^ "embarqué chacun environ". yumpu.com.
- ^ "92e régiment d'infanterie". French Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
References
edit- 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.