French destroyer Albatros


The French destroyer Albatros was one of six built for the French Navy during the 1930s.

Design and description

The Aigle-class ships were designed as improved versions of the preceding s. They had an overall length of, a beam of, and a draft of. The ships displaced at standard and at deep load. Albatros was powered by two Parsons Marine [Steam Turbine Company|Parsons] geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam provided by four du Temple boilers. The turbines were designed to produce, which would propel the ships at. During her sea trials on 30 April 1931, Albatros reached for a single hour. The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of at. Their crew consisted of 10 officers and 198 crewmen in peacetime and 10 officers and 217 enlisted men in wartime.
The main armament of the Aigle-class ships consisted of five Modèle 1927 guns in single shielded mounts, one superfiring pair fore and aft of the superstructure and the fifth gun abaft the aft funnel. Albatross anti-aircraft armament consisted of a M1897-15 gun forward of the rear pair of funnels and four semi-automatic Modèle 1927 guns in single mounts positioned amidships. All the ships carried two rotating triple mounts for torpedo tubes, one mount between the two pairs of funnels as well as another aft of the rear funnel. A pair of depth charge chutes were built into their stern; these housed a total of sixteen depth charges, with eight more in reserve. They were also fitted with four depth-charge throwers, two on each broadside abreast the forward pair of funnels, for which the ships carried a dozen depth charges.

Construction and career

During World War II, on 14 June 1940 she participated in Operation Vado, a raid of French cruisers and destroyers from Toulon to bombard Italian targets at Genoa and Savona; the coastal battery "Mameli" struck her with one round, which penetrated her fire-room and killed twelve sailors. After France surrendered to Germany, Albatros served with the naval forces of Vichy France. She was at Casablanca in French Morocco when Allies of [World War II|Allied] forces invaded French North Africa in Operation Torch in November 1942. Resisting the invasion, she was badly damaged off Casablanca on 8 November 1942 in action with United States Navy forces during the Naval Battle of Casablanca when she came under fire from the heavy cruisers,, and and then was bombed by aircraft from the escort carrier. Badly damaged, she was beached in a sinking condition. After World War II, she was repaired and returned to service.