Bourrasque class destroyer
Encyclopedia
The Bourrasque class was a group of twelve French navy
destroyer
s (contre-torpilleur) laid down in 1923 and commissioned from 1926 to 1936. Along with the heavier Chacal class
, they were part of a plan to modernise the French fleet after World War I. The Bourrasques were smaller and slower than the Chacals, but were nonetheless comparable with the British 'W' class
. The class saw varied service in the Second World War, in five different navies, on both sides. Thes ships were named after types of wind.
Mistral and Ouragan were captured by the British in Plymouth
harbour on 3 July 1940 during Operation Catapult. Both were eventually transferred to the Free French. Somewhat circuitously, Ouragan was first transferred to the Free Polish navy. Both survived the war.
Tornade and Tramontaine were lost in the same engagement off Oran
on 8 November 1942, against allied units protecting Operation Torch
. Typhon was scuttled in Oran harbour to stop her being acquired by the Allies.
Simoun and Tempête, based at Casablanca, joined the Allies in November 1942. They may have joined the battleship Jean Bart
in engaging the Allied 'Covering Group', a taskforce based on the battleship .
Trombe was the only ship of the class to be scuttled at Toulon
in November 1942 alongside much of the French navy. She was later raised, commissioned into the Italian navy as FR31, and then re-transferred to the Free French on 28 October 1943.
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s (contre-torpilleur) laid down in 1923 and commissioned from 1926 to 1936. Along with the heavier Chacal class
Chacal class destroyer
The Chacal-class, sometimes known as the Jaguar class, were a group of six French navy large destroyers built commencing 1923. Designed as larger, more capable counterparts to the Bourasque class, they set a standard for French destroyer design until the mid-1930s...
, they were part of a plan to modernise the French fleet after World War I. The Bourrasques were smaller and slower than the Chacals, but were nonetheless comparable with the British 'W' class
V and W class destroyer
The V and W class was an amalgam of six similar classes of destroyer built for the Royal Navy under the War Emergency Programme of the First World War and generally treated as one class...
. The class saw varied service in the Second World War, in five different navies, on both sides. Thes ships were named after types of wind.
Ships
- Bourrasque ("Snow storm" - 12, 24, 24, 41, T41) - built by At & Ch de France, Dunkirk, completed 23 September 1926 - mined and lost off NieuwpoortNieuwpoort, BelgiumNieuwpoort is a municipality located in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium, and in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Nieuwpoort proper and the towns of Ramskapelle and Sint-Joris. On January 1, 2008 Nieuwpoort had a total population of 11,062....
on 30 May 1940 during Operation DynamoOperation DynamoThe Dunkirk evacuation, commonly known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, code-named Operation Dynamo by the British, was the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, France, between 26 May and the early hours of 3 June 1940, because the British, French and Belgian troops were... - Cyclone (51, 52, 56, 61, T61) - built by f & Ch de la Méditerranée, Le Havre, completed 1 June 1928 - damaged by E-boatE-boatE-boats was the designation for Motor Torpedo Boats of the German Navy during World War II. It is commonly held that the E stood for Enemy....
S-24 30 May 1940, scuttled at BrestBrest, FranceBrest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
18 June 1940 - Mistral (MistralMistral (wind)The mistral is a strong, cold and usually dry regional wind in France, coming from the north or northwest, which accelerates when it passes through the valleys of the Rhone and the Durance Rivers to the coast of the Mediterranean around the Camargue region. It affects the northeast of the plain...
- 52, 53, 62, 63, T63, H03)- built by f & Ch de la Méditerranée, Le Havre, completed 1 June 1927 - decommissioned 17 February 1950 - Orage (Storm - 13, 16, 12, 22, 43, T43) - built by Ch Nav Français, Caen, completed 1 December 1926 - Lost 23 May 1940
- Ouragan (HurricaneHawker HurricaneThe Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
- 12, 15, 13, 23, 42, T42, H16) - built by Ch Nav Français, Caen, completed 19 January 1927 - decommissioned 1949 - Simoun (SimoomSimoomSimoom is a strong, dry, dust-laden local wind that blows in the Sahara, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Syria, and the deserts of Arabian Peninsula. Alternative spellings include samiel, sameyel, samoon, samun, simoun, and simoon...
- 13, 12, 54, 58, 6, 3, T33, T52, T61, T62)- built by At & Ch de St Nazaire Panhoet, completed 29 April 1926 - decommissioned 17 February 1950 - Sirocco (SiroccoSiroccoSirocco, scirocco, , jugo or, rarely, siroc is a Mediterranean wind that comes from the Sahara and reaches hurricane speeds in North Africa and Southern Europe. It is known in North Africa by the Arabic word qibli or ghibli Sirocco, scirocco, , jugo or, rarely, siroc is a Mediterranean wind...
- 53, 57, 52, 63, 62, T62)- built by At & Ch de St Nazaire Panhoet, completed 1 July 1927 - sunk by the Schnellboote S-23 and S-2631 on 31 May 1940 during Operation Dynamo - Tempête (Tempest - 11, 13, 31, 58, 7, 3, T13, T62, T61) - built by Anciens Ch Dubigeon, completed 28 September 1926 - decommissioned 1950
- Tornade (TornadoTornadoA tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
- 31, 33, 73, 76, T73) - built by Ch Dyle & Bacalan (Bordeaux) completed 10 May 1928 -sunk 8 November 1942 - Tramontane (34, 31, 83, 75, T71) - built by F & Ch Girodins Bordeaux, completed 15 October 1927 - lost 8 November 1942
- Trombe (Waterspout - 32, 82, T82, T64) - built by F & Ch Girodins Bordeaux, completed 27 October 1927- decommissioned 17 February 1950
- Typhon (Typhoon - 33, 72, T72) - built by F & Ch Girodins Bordeaux, completed 27 June 1928 - scuttled 9 November 1942
Service
Four ships of the class - Bourrasque, Cyclone, Orage and Sirocco - were lost in 1940; Orage on 23 May, sunk by German bombers; Bourasque by German mines and artillery fire on 30 May while evacuating troops from Dunkirk; Sirocco on 31 May, to German torpedo boats while engaged in the same operation; and Cyclone, having been badly damaged on 30 May by torpedo boats was scuttled at Brest on 18 June to prevent her capture.Mistral and Ouragan were captured by the British in Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
harbour on 3 July 1940 during Operation Catapult. Both were eventually transferred to the Free French. Somewhat circuitously, Ouragan was first transferred to the Free Polish navy. Both survived the war.
Tornade and Tramontaine were lost in the same engagement off Oran
Oran
Oran is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.It is the capital of the Oran Province . The city has a population of 759,645 , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest...
on 8 November 1942, against allied units protecting Operation Torch
Operation Torch
Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....
. Typhon was scuttled in Oran harbour to stop her being acquired by the Allies.
Simoun and Tempête, based at Casablanca, joined the Allies in November 1942. They may have joined the battleship Jean Bart
French battleship Jean Bart (1940)
The Jean Bart was a French battleship of World War II named for the seventeenth-century seaman, privateer, and corsair Jean Bart.Derived from the Dunkerque class, Jean Bart were designed to counter the threat of the heavy ships of the Italian Navy...
in engaging the Allied 'Covering Group', a taskforce based on the battleship .
Trombe was the only ship of the class to be scuttled at Toulon
Scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon
The French fleet in Toulon was scuttled on 27 November 1942 on the order of the Admiralty of Vichy France to avoid capture by Nazi German forces during Operation Lila of the Case Anton takeover of Vichy France.- Context :...
in November 1942 alongside much of the French navy. She was later raised, commissioned into the Italian navy as FR31, and then re-transferred to the Free French on 28 October 1943.