French destroyer Surcouf (D621)

For other ships of the same name, see French ship Surcouf.
Surcouf in 1970, a few months before her accident.
History
France
Name: Surcouf
Namesake: Robert Surcouf
Laid down: February 1951
Launched: October 1953
Commissioned: 1955
Decommissioned: 5 May 1972
Homeport: Brest and later Toulon
Fate: Sunk as target
General characteristics
Class & type: T 47-class destroyer
Displacement:
  • 2,750 tons standard
  • 3,740 tons full load
Length: 128.6 m (422 ft)
Beam: 12.7 m (42 ft)
Draught: 5.4 m (18 ft)
Installed power: 63,000 shp (47,000 kW)
Propulsion:
  • 4 diesel boilers
  • 2 shafts
  • Geared steam turbines
Speed: 34 kn (63 km/h)
Range: 5,000 nmi (9,300 km) at 18 kn (33 km/h)
Complement: 347
Armament:
  • 6 × 127-mm (5-inch) guns (3 twin turrets)
  • 6 × 57-mm (2.2-inch) guns (3 twin turrets)
  • 4 × 20-mm (0.79-inch) guns (4 × 1)
  • 12 × 550-mm (22-inch) torpedo tubes (4 × 3)

Surcouf was a T 47-class destroyer of the French Navy. She was the fourth French ship named in honour of Robert Surcouf.

Design and construction

Laid down in February 1951 at Lorient and launched in October 1953, Surcouf was commissioned into the French Navy in 1955.[1] She was the first of 12 T 47-class destroyers.[2] With a standard displacement of 2,750 tons and a length of 128.6 metres, the ship had a beam of 12.7 metres and a draught of 5.4 metres. Her armament consisted of six 127-mm guns which were mounted in three twin turrets, six 57-mm guns in twin mounts and four single-mounted 20-mm guns. There were four banks of three 550-mm torpedo tubes, capable of launching both anti-submarine homing and anti-ship torpedoes. Surcouf had two shafts, geared turbines, and four boilers, which were capable of producing 63,000 horsepower and a top speed of 34 knots. At 18 knots, Surcouf had a range of 5,000 nautical miles. The ship had a complement of 347 personnel.[3]

Operational service

Following her commissioning in 1955, Surcouf's homeport was Brest, however, this was changed in 1961 to Toulon.[2] In 1956, Surcouf took part in Operation Musketeer during the Suez Crisis.[4] On 26 March 1960, Surcouf was accidentally rammed by the cargo ship Léognan off Groix. In March 1962, during the Algerian War, Surcouf was ordered to shell the Bab el-Oued quarter of Algiers. The ship's captain, Capitaine de frégate Picard-Destelan, refused to obey the order.[1][5]

Surcouf was converted to a command ship in the early 1960s, with the forward 57mm mount being removed to allow the bridge to be extended forward.[3]

On 6 June 1971, in the Mediterranean 60 miles (97 km) south of Cartagena, Spain, as she sailed with the group of the Arromanches, Surcouf was again rammed accidentally when she cut across the bow of the Soviet tanker General Busharov before sunrise. The tanker, six times heavier than the destroyer, could not avoid the collision and rammed Surcouf at 16 knots. Nine men from Surcouf were lost at sea and one was severely burned (he later died of his wounds). When the French destroyer Tartu attempted to tow the badly damaged ship, Surcouf snapped in two, the bow sinking quickly. The aft part was taken in tow to Toulon via Cartagena.

She was eventually sunk as a target by an Exocet anti-ship missile after being decommissioned on 5 May 1972.[1]

The lieutenant de vaisseau who was on watch at the time of the accident was sentenced to six months of prison on parole and discharged from the Navy without retirement.[6] But he was kept in reserve cadres of the Navy, where he graduated with the rank of Capitaine de frégate (reserve).

References

Citations
  1. 1 2 3 Roche, Jean-Michel (2010). "Escorteur d'Escadre Surcouf" [Fleet Escort Surcouf] (in French). Netmarine.net. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  2. 1 2 "D 621 Surcouf DD". Harpoon Databases. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
  3. 1 2 Gardiner and Chumbley 1995. p. 110.
  4. ↑ "Operation Musketeer". Britain's Small Wars.com. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
  5. ↑ This assertion is highly questionable: in fact, if the ship's CO, capitaine de frégate Picard-Destelan had disobeyed orders, he instantly would have been disembarked and punished, then sentenced by a military court (and few time after knocked out of the Navy). But, in fact, he continued with honour his naval career, which (later) ended with the rank of capitaine de vaisseau.
  6. ↑ This is not a disciplinary or legal penalty : this officer was there only fifteen years of service, which enabled him, in any way, to enjoy a retirement pension with immediate effect. This could then be obtained only after twenty-five years of service.
Bibliography
  • Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen (1995). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1947–1995. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-132-5. 

External links

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