French destroyer Ouragan
{{short description|Bourrasque-class destroyer of the French Navy}}
{{other ships|French ship Ouragan}}
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{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=Ouragan-1.jpg |Ship caption=Ouragan }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=France |Ship flag={{shipboxflag|France|naval}} |Ship name= Ouragan |Ship namesake=Hurricane |Ship ordered=13 March 1923 |Ship awarded= |Ship builder=Chantiers Navals Français, Caen |Ship original cost= |Ship yard number= |Ship way number= |Ship laid down=7 September 1923 |Ship launched=6 December 1924 |Ship sponsor= |Ship christened= |Ship completed=19 January 1927 |Ship decommissioned=3 July 1940 |Ship in service=15 September 1927 |Ship identification= |Ship motto= |Ship nickname= |Ship fate=Loaned to Poland |Ship notes= |Ship badge= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header=title |Ship country=Poland |Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Poland|naval}} |Ship name= Ouragan |Ship acquired= |Ship commissioned=17 July 1940 |Ship decommissioned=30 April 1941 |Ship identification= |Ship motto= |Ship nickname= |Ship fate=Returned to the Free French, 30 April 1941 |Ship notes= |Ship badge= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header=title |Ship country=Free France |Ship flag= {{Shipboxflag|Free French|naval}} |Ship name= Ouragan |Ship acquired= |Ship commissioned=30 April 1941 |Ship recommissioned= |Ship decommissioned=1943 |Ship maiden voyage= |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship renamed= |Ship reclassified= |Ship refit= |Ship struck= |Ship reinstated= |Ship identification= |Ship motto= |Ship nickname= |Ship fate=Scrapped, 1949 |Ship notes= |Ship badge= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class= {{sclass|Bourrasque|destroyer}} |Ship displacement=*{{convert|1320|t|LT|abbr=on}} (standard)
|Ship length= {{convert|105.6|m|ftin|abbr=on|1}} |Ship beam={{convert|9.7|m|ftin|abbr=on|1}} |Ship draft={{convert|3.5|m|ftin|abbr=on|1}} |Ship power=*{{convert|31000|PS|kW shp|lk=on|abbr=on|0}} |Ship propulsion=*2 shafts
|Ship speed= {{convert|33|kn|lk=in}} |Ship crew=9 officers, 153 crewmen (wartime) |Ship range={{convert|3000|nmi|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|15|kn}} |Ship armament=*4 × single Canon de 130 mm Modèle 1919
|Ship notes= }} |
{{More footnotes needed|date=October 2022}}
Ouragan (French: "hurricane") was a {{sclass|Bourrasque|destroyer}} (torpilleur d'escadre) built for the French Navy during the 1920s. During World War II, the destroyer began the war in service with the French Navy and was undergoing repairs at Brest during the invasion of France. The British Royal Navy towed the destroyer to the United Kingdom and commandeered the vessel following the French surrender in 1940. They transferred Ouragan to the Polish Navy which kept the destroyer in service for less than a year. In 1941, the Polish Navy transferred the destroyer to the Free French Naval Forces, which in turn, transferred Ouragan back to the Royal Navy in 1943. Ouragan saw no further action and was broken up for scrap in 1949.
Design and description
The Bourrasque class had an overall length of {{convert|105.6|m|ftin|sp=us}}, a beam of {{convert|9.7|m|ftin|sp=us}}, and a draft of {{convert|3.5|m|ftin|sp=us}}. The ships displaced {{convert|1320|t|LT|sp=us|lk=on}} at (standard) load and {{convert|1825|t|LT|sp=us}} 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 {{convert|31000|PS|kW shp|lk=on|sp=us|0}}, which would propel the ship at {{convert|33|kn|lk=in}}. The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of {{convert|3000|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|15|kn}}.Jordan & Moulin, p. 41
The main armament of the Bourrasque-class ships consisted of four Canon de 130 mm Modèle 1919 guns in shielded single mounts, one superfiring pair each fore and aft of the superstructure. Their anti-aircraft (AA) armament consisted of a single Canon de 75 mm Modèle 1924 gun. The ships carried two triple mounts of {{convert|550|mm|in|adj=on|sp=us|1}} torpedo tubes amidships. A pair of depth charge chutes were built into their stern that housed a total of sixteen {{convert|200|kg|sp=us|adj=on}} depth charges.
Construction and career
During the first year of World War II, Ouragan served with the 4th Destroyer Division with the destroyers {{ship|French destroyer|Bourrasque||2}} and {{ship|French destroyer|Orage||2}}, 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 {{ORP|Grom|1936|2}}, 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.
Notes
{{Reflist|30em}}
References
- {{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946|editor1-last=Chesneau|editor1-first=Roger|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=Greenwich, UK|year=1980|isbn=0-85177-146-7}}
- {{cite journal |last1=Colledge |first1=J. J.|last2=Adams|first2=T. A. |title=French Ships Seized by the Royal Navy During the Second World War — Part 2 |journal=Marine News Supplement: Warships|name-list-style=amp |date=May 2022 |volume=76 |issue=5 |pages=S261–S276 |issn=0966-6958}}
- {{cite book|last1=Jordan|first1=John|last2=Moulin|first2=Jean|title=French Destroyers: Torpilleurs d'Escadre & Contre-Torpilleurs 1922–1956|year=2015|publisher=Seaforth Publishing|location=Barnsley, UK|isbn=978-1-84832-198-4 |name-list-style=amp}}
- {{cite book|last=Rohwer|first=Jürgen|title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=2005|edition=Third Revised|isbn=1-59114-119-2|author-link=Jürgen Rohwer}}
- {{cite book|last=Whitley|first=M. J.|title=Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia|publisher=Naval Institute Press|year=1988 |isbn=0-87021-326-1|location=Annapolis, Maryland|author-link=Michael J. Whitley}}
External links
- [http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/6005.html uboat.com]
- [http://www.ostrycharz.free-online.co.uk/polish_navy.html Polish Navy in Scotland]
- [http://www.polish-navy.org/ Polish navy]
{{Bourrasque class destroyer}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ouragan}}
Category:Bourrasque-class destroyers
Category:World War II destroyers of France
Category:World War II destroyers of Poland