Guépard class destroyer |
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Guépard |
| Preceded by: | Chacal |
| Succeeded by: | Aigle |
| Completed: | 6 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Destroyer |
| Displacement: | 2436 tons standard, 3200 tons full load |
| Length: | 130.2 m |
| Beam: | 11.76 m |
| Draught: | 4.03 m |
| Propulsion: | Geared turbines, 4 boilers giving 64000 SHP |
| Speed: | 35.5 knots |
| Range: | 3450 nmi at 14.5 knots |
| Complement: | 209 officers and men |
| Armament: |
5x 138 mm (5.4in) 40 calibre guns |
The Guépard-class destroyers (contre-torpilleurs) of the French navy were laid down in 1927 and commissioned in 1930. They were similar to the previous Chacal class, with a larger hull and with a slightly improved speed and gun armament with 138mm guns of a new design. The first three ships bore 'animal' names like the Chacals, while the remaining three were given names starting with V, for two battles and a field-marshal The class saw action in World War II.
The other five members of the class (Guépard, Lion, Valmy, Vauban and Verdun) were all scuttled on 27 November 1942 to prevent them falling into German hands. All were subsequently raised by the Italian navy, Lion and Valmy being repaired and commissioned as the Italian FR21 and FR24. Both were subsequently re-scuttled in September 1943 at La Spezia. Valmy was then raised once more and recommissioned into the Kriegsmarine before finally sinking in Genoa in 1945.
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