French destroyer Vautour

Half-sister Milan at anchor
History
France
NameVautour
NamesakeVulture
BuilderForges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée, La Seyne
Launched26 August 1930
Completed2 May 1932
Fate
  • Scuttled 27 November 1942
  • Refloated
  • Sunk 4 February 1944
General characteristics
Class and typeAigle-class destroyer
Displacement2,441 t (2,402 long tons) (standard)
Length128.5 m (421 ft 7 in)
Beam11.8 m (38 ft 9 in)
Draught4.4 m (14 ft 5 in)
Installed power
Propulsion2 shafts; 2 geared steam turbines
Speed36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph)
Range3,650 nmi (6,760 km; 4,200 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Crew10 officers, 217 crewmen (wartime)
Armament

The French destroyer Vautour was one of six Aigle-class destroyer (contre-torpilleurs) built for the French Navy in the interwar period.

In Vichy French service after France surrendered to Germany in June 1940, Vautour was scuttled at Toulon, France, on 27 November 1942 to prevent her capture by the Germans when Germany occupied Vichy France.[1] Later refloated by the Germans, she was sunk again in an Allied air raid on Toulon on 4 February 1944.[2]

Notes

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  1. ^ Rohwer, Jürgen; Gerhard Hümmelchen. "Seekrieg 1942, November". Württembergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart (in German). Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  2. ^ Rohwer, Jürgen; Gerhard Hümmelchen. "Seekrieg 1944, Februar". Württembergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart (in German). Retrieved 3 June 2016.

References

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  • Cernuschi, Enrico & O'Hara, Vincent P. (2013). "Toulon: The Self-Destruction and Salvage of the French Fleet". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2013. London: Conway. pp. 134–148. ISBN 978-1-84486-205-4.
  • 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.