French_destroyer_Aigle
French destroyer Aigle
Destroyer of the French Navy
The French destroyer Aigle was the lead ship of her class of destroyers (contre-torpilleurs) built for the French Navy during the 1920s.
Aigle shortly after being launched, 1931 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Aigle |
| Namesake | Eagle |
| Builder | Ateliers et Chantiers de France, Dunkirk |
| Launched | 19 February 1931 |
| Completed | 10 October 1932 |
| Fate | Scuttled, 27 November 1942 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Class and type | Aigle-class destroyer |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 128.5 m (421 ft 7 in) |
| Beam | 11.8 m (38 ft 9 in) |
| Draught | 4.4 m (14 ft 5 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) |
| Range | 3,650 nmi (6,760 km; 4,200 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) |
| Crew | 10 officers, 217 crewmen (wartime) |
| Armament |
|
During World War II, Aigle was engaged in operations to transport gold bars several times. In November 1939, she escorted Force 'Z' ships (the battleship Lorraine and two cruisers of the La Galissonnière class) until they reached the Atlantic. In March–April 1940, Aigle provided cover and later escorted the ships of Force 'X' back. Besides that, Aigle was regularly deployed to escort convoys with troops, heading from the North African ports to Marseille. The last combat operation in which the large destroyer participated was a raid on Genoa on the night of 13/14 June 1940, as part of Operation Vado, where she had to fend off the attacks of Italian torpedo boats.
After France surrendered to Germany in June 1940 during World War II, Aigle served with the navy of Vichy France. She was among the ships of the French fleet scuttled at Toulon, France, on 27 November 1942. Later refloated, she was sunk a second time at Toulon by United States Army Air Forces bombers on 24 November 1943. Her wreck later was again salvaged and scrapped.[1]
- "Official Chronology of the US Navy in WWII". Ibiblio. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
- Cernuschi, Enrico & O'Hara, Vincent P. (2013). "Toulon: The Self-Destruction and Salvage of the French Fleet". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2013. London: Conway. pp. 134–148. ISBN 978-1-84486-205-4.
- Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
- Jordan, John & Moulin, Jean (2015). French Destroyers: Torpilleurs d'Escadre & Contre-Torpilleurs 1922–1956. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-198-4.
- Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
- Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1.