French destroyer Valmy
Valmy was one of six s built for the French Navy during the 1920s. Completed in 1930, the ship participated in the Second World War. After France signed an armistice with Germany in June 1940, Valmy served with the navy of Vichy France. She was among the ships of the French fleet scuttled at Toulon, France, on 27 November 1942. The ship was salvaged by the Italians the following year, but was captured by the Germans after the Italian surrender in September 1943. Her wreck was found in Genoa, Italy, in 1945.
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 1 June 1929, Valmy 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.