Name Ouragan Ordered 13 March 1923 Completed 19 January 1927 Construction started 3 April 1923 Length 106 m | Namesake Hurricane Laid down 7 September 1923 Decommissioned 3 July 1940 Launched 6 December 1924 Builder Caen | |
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Ouragan (French: "hurricane") was a Bourrasque-class destroyer (torpilleur d'escadre) built for the French Navy during the 1920s.
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Design and description
The Bourrasque class had an overall length of 105.6 meters (346 ft 5 in), a beam of 9.7 meters (31 ft 10 in), and a draft of 3.5 meters (11 ft 6 in). The ships displaced 1,320 metric tons (1,300 long tons) at standard load and 1,825 metric tons (1,796 long tons) at deep load. They were powered by two geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by three du Temple boilers. The turbines were designed to produce 31,000 metric horsepower (22,800 kW; 30,576 shp), which would propel the ship at 33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph). The ships carried 360 metric tons (354 long tons) of fuel oil which gave them a range of 3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).
The main armament of the Bourrasque-class ships consisted of four Canon de 130 mm Modèle 1919 guns in single mounts, one superfiring pair fore and aft of the superstructure. Their anti-aircraft armament consisted of a single Canon de 75 mm Modèle 1924 gun. The ships carried two above-water triple sets of 550-millimeter (21.7 in) torpedo tubes. A pair of depth charge chutes were built into their stern; these housed a total of sixteen 200-kilogram (440 lb) depth charges.
Construction and career
During the first year of World War II, Ouragan served with the 4th Destroyer Division with the destroyers Bourrasque and Orage, based at Brest. At the time of the German invasion of France in 1940, she was undergoing engine repairs at Brest. The Royal Navy towed her to Devonport where the repairs were completed. After the French surrender in June, the British commandeered her on 3 July and she was transferred to the Polish Navy on 17 July 1940. Until 30 April 1941 she sailed under the Polish ensign (using pennant number H16) but as OF Ouragan (OF - Okręt Francuski - "French ship"), instead of the usual ORP prefix. She was commanded by Lieutenant Commander T. Gorazdowski; most of Ouragan's crew were transferred from Grom, which had been sunk on 4 May 1940, during the Battle of Narvik.
Ouragan participated in operations around the British Isles, during which she suffered storm damage (flooded engine and boiler rooms) and a series of debilitating technical problems, requiring a total of 194 days under repair (compared to 31 days at sea). On 30 April 1941, after 287 days in Polish service, Ouragan was returned to the Free French Forces, who in turn passed her to the Royal Navy in 1943. She never returned to active operations, was decommissioned on 7 April 1949 and scrapped.