1933 LETERRIBLE. The six ships of the Le Fantasque class, of which Le Terrible was the second to be completed, were what the French call Contre-Torpilleurs: heavily-armed, fast destroyers with good endurance in all sorts of conditions.
THE LE FANTASQUE CLASS
The six ships were ordered under the 1930 Programme, and represented a considerable step forward from their immediate predecessors, the so-called 2400 tonne destroyers of the Vauquelin class, with similar armament but more powerful machinery. They were the fastest ships of their class in the world throughout their lifetimes, capable of sustained speeds of over 37 knots (68.5km/h) at full load. Le Terrible was constructed at Caen by Chantiers Navals Francais. Laid down late in 1932, she was launched on 30 November 1933 and commissioned the following year. On her trials (and thus only lightly loaded) she set a record speed for her type of 45.03 knots (83.42km/h), maintained 44.9 knots (83.15km/h) for an hour and almost 43 knots (79.64km/h) for eight hours. She was comprehensively refitted in the USA, along with the other survivors of her class, between February 1943 and April 1944, being re-classified as a light cruiser thereafter. Le Terrible stayed in service until the late 1950s, and was broken up in June 1962.
LE TERRIBLES ARMAMENT
The ships principal weapons were her five 138mm (5.5in) guns, mounted singly in turrets, two super-firing forwards, one on the forward part of the aft deckhouse and another on the after part, with the fifth on the quarterdeck below it. These were Model 1929 guns, 45 calibres long, capable of a sustained rate of fire of 12 rounds per minute out to a maximum range of 21,900 yards ( and under the control of a central director. She also mounted four 37mm and four 13.2mm AA guns, and nine 21.7in (550mm) torpedo tubes arranged in three triples, one aft, two amidships. She had no depth charge launchers, but could carry fifty 1100 pound (500kg) mines.
TECHNICAL DATA
Type: Fleet destroyer
Machinery: 2-shaft Rateau-Bretagne geared turbines giving a total of 74,000shp
Dimensions (overall): Length, 132.4m (434.3ft); beam, 12.45m (40.5ft)
Displacement: 2570t standard, 3400t lull load
Drought: 5m (16.Sft)
Complement: 210
