French destroyer Lion
Lion was one of six s built for the French Navy during the 1920s. Completed in 1931, the ship participated in the Second World War. After France surrendered to Germany in June 1940, Lion served with the navy of Vichy France. Her crew attempted to Scuttling of the French [fleet in Toulon|scuttle the ship, but failed] when the German attempted to seize the French fleet in Toulon, France, on 27 November 1942. She later was repaired by the Regia Marina, but was scuttled to prevent her capture by the Germans when Italy surrendered in September 1943. The German salvaged the ship the following year, but it was sunk by Allied bombers later that year.
Design and description
The Guépard-class ships were improved versions of the preceding. They had an overall length of, a beam of, and a draft of. The ships displaced at standard load and at deep load. Their crew consisted of 10 officers and 200 crewmen in peacetime and 102 officers and 224 enlisted men in wartime.The ships were powered by two geared steam turbines, each driving a propeller shaft using steam provided by four du Temple boilers. The turbines were designed to produce which was intended give the ships a speed of. During her sea trials on 24 September 1930, Lion sustained a speed of from. The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of at.
The main battery of the Guépard class consisted of five Modèle 1923 guns in single shielded mounts, one superfiring pair fore and aft of the superstructure and the fifth gun abaft the rear funnel. Their anti-aircraft armament consisted of four semi-automatic Modèle 1927 guns in single mounts positioned amidships. They were equipped with 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 side abreast the forward pair of funnels, for which the ships carried a dozen depth charges.