 Volta
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Volta |
| Namesake | Volta River |
| Builder | Ateliers et Chantiers de Bretagne Nantes |
| Laid down | 24 December 1934 |
| Launched | 26 November 1936 |
| Commissioned | 6 March 1939 |
| Fate | Scuttled, 27 November 1942, raised in 1943 by Italy, scrapped in 1948 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Mogador-class destroyer |
| Displacement | 2,997 t (2,950 long tons) (standard) |
| Length | 137.5 m (451 ft 1 in) |
| Beam | 12.57 m (41 ft 3 in) |
| Draft | 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion | 2 shafts; 2 geared steam turbines |
| Speed | 39 knots (72 km/h; 45 mph) |
| Range | 4,345 nmi (8,047 km; 5,000 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Complement | 12 officers, 226 men |
| Armament |
|
Volta was a Mogador-class destroyer (contre-torpilleur) of the French Navy. Named for the West African river, she was built before the outbreak of World War II and was the penultimate contre-torpilleur built by the French Navy. Along with her sister ship Mogador, Volta was designed in an effort to build a ship capable of out-fighting every other ship below her tonnage. Arguably the design was less than successful, as it possessed the armament of a light cruiser on the hull of a destroyer. The two ships of the class have been described as having pushed the contre-torpilleur concept beyond "the limits of its capabilities".[1]
During Volta's service, she saw only limited action. Following the outbreak of the war, she took part in convoy escort duties initially before being withdrawn to Brest for refit. On 3 July 1940, when the British attacked the French fleet at Mers-el-Kébir, Volta managed to escape without damage and sought refuge in Toulon. When the Germans tried to seize her along with the rest of the fleet on 27 November 1942, however, she was scuttled in Toulon Harbour by her crew to prevent her from being captured.
- ^ Jordan, p. 59