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| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Chevalier Paul |
| Namesake | Chevalier Paul |
| Ordered | 1 February 1930 |
| Builder | Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée, La Seyne-sur-Mer |
| Cost | 56,500,000 Francs |
| Laid down | 28 February 1931 |
| Launched | 21 March 1932 |
| Completed | 20 July 1934 |
| In service | 24 August 1934 |
| Fate | Sunk by aircraft, 16 June 1941 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Vauquelin-class destroyer |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 129.3 m (424 ft 3 in) |
| Beam | 11.8 m (38 ft 9 in) |
| Draft | 4.97 m (16 ft 4 in) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion | 2 shafts; 2 geared steam turbines |
| Speed | 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) |
| Range | 3,000 nmi (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
| Crew | 12 officers, 224 crewmen (wartime) |
| Armament |
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Chevalier Paul was one of six Vauquelin-class large destroyers (contre-torpilleurs) built for the French Navy (Marine Nationale) during the 1930s. The ship entered service in 1934 and spent most of her career in the Mediterranean. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939, she was one of the ships that helped to enforce the non-intervention agreement. When France declared war on Germany in September 1939, all of the Vauquelins were assigned to the High Sea Forces (Forces de haute mer (FHM)) which was tasked to escort French convoys and support the other commands as needed. Chevalier Paul was briefly deployed to Scotland in early 1940 to support the Allied forces in the Norwegian Campaign, but returned to the Mediterranean in time to participate in Operation Vado, a bombardment of Italian coastal facilities after Italy entered the war in June.
The ship was assigned to the Vichy French FHM when it was reformed after the Armistice of 22 June 1940. She attempted to ferry ammunition to French Lebanon after it was invaded by the Allied forces in June 1941, but was sunk off the coast of French Syria by British aircraft with almost all of her crew surviving.