7014 FRENCH DESTROYER LE TERRIBLE 1944

Le Terrible is a French great destroyer (fr. contre-torpilleur), The keel of which was laid in December 1931, was launched in November 1933, and entry into service took place in 1935. The total length of the ship at the time of launching was 132.4 m, width 12 m, with a full displacement of approximately 3,300 tons. The maximum speed was up to 37 knots! At the beginning of service, the unit was armed with: 5 138 mm guns, 2 37 mm anti-aircraft cannons or 3 triple 550 mm torpedo tubes. Le Terrible was one of six Fantasque-class destroyers. Vessels of this class were built to operate in the Mediterranean basin and were designed with the highest possible maximum speed in mind. The latter assumption worked out brilliantly, as the Fantasque-class destroyers were arguably the fastest destroyers of the interwar period, and Le Terrible developed a stunning top speed of 45 knots in the course of sea trials! In addition, units of this class had strong artillery and torpedo armament. However, their considerable disadvantage was the relatively small range of operation and limited autonomy. Le Terrible was constructed in a shipyard Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire in Nantes, Brittany. Shortly after the outbreak of World War II, it operates in the Atlantic, looking for German raiders. At the time of the German attack on France in May 1940, Le Terrible was at the base at Mers El-Kebir. It survived the British attack on this base in July 1940 and broke through to Toulon. A year later, he was transferred to Dakar. There he was found by Operation Torch and the crossing of the destroyer crew with the ship to the Free French side. In 1943, in the USA, the unit underwent renovation and modernization, mainly consisting in reinforcing the anti-aircraft armament. In the period 1943-1944, Le Terrible operated primarily in the Mediterranean, supporting Allied landing operations in Sicily and southern France. After World War II, the vessel remained in the Marine Nationale, but in 1955 it was reclassified as a training ship. Only in 1962 was it scrapped.