 Vauquelin, about 1934
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Vauquelin class |
| Operators |  French Navy |
| Preceded by | Aigle class |
| Succeeded by | Le Fantasque class |
| Built | 1930–1934 |
| In service | 1933–1942 |
| Completed | 6 |
| Lost | 6 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Large 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 |
|
| 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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The Vauquelin class was a group of six large destroyers (contre-torpilleurs) built for the French Navy (Marine Nationale) in the early 1930s. Entering service in 1933–1934, the sister ships spent most of their careers in the Mediterranean. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939, they 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. Three of the sisters briefly deployed to Scotland in early 1940 to support the Allied forces in the Norwegian Campaign and Maillé Brézé was lost to an accidental explosion. The others 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 Vichy French reformed the FHM after the French surrender in late June. After the Allies invaded French Lebanon and Syria in June 1941, Chevalier Paul was ordered to ferry ammunition there. Sunk en route, the ship was replaced by her sister Vauquelin which successfully delivered the ammunition and then attempted to transport reinforcements and supplies to Lebanon. The four surviving ships were scuttled in Toulon when the Germans occupied Vichy France in November 1942. They were not successfully salvaged during the war and their wrecks were broken up well after the war.