French destroyer Albatros

The French destroyer Albatros was one of six Aigle-class destroyer (contre-torpilleurs) built for the French Navy in the interwar period.

Half-sister Milan at anchor
History
France
Name: Albatros
Namesake: Albatross
Builder: Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire, Nantes
Launched: 27 June 1930
Completed: 25 December 1931
Fate: Scrapped, 9 September 1959
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type: Aigle-class destroyer
Displacement:
  • 2,441 t (2,402 long tons) (standard)
  • 3,140 t (3,090 long tons) (full load)
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, on 14 June 1940 she participated in Operation Vado, a raid of French cruisers and destroyers from Toulon to bombard Italian targets at Genoa and Savona; the coastal battery "Mameli" struck her with one 152 mm (6 in) round, which penetrated her fire-room and killed twelve sailors. After France surrendered to Germany, Albatros served with the naval forces of Vichy France. She was at Casablanca in French Morocco when Allied forces invaded French North Africa in Operation Torch in November 1942. Resisting the invasion, she was badly damaged off Casablanca on 8 November 1942 in action with United States Navy forces during the Naval Battle of Casablanca when she came under fire from the heavy cruisers USS Augusta, USS Wichita, and USS Tuscaloosa and then was bombed by aircraft from the escort carrier USS Suwanee. Badly damaged, she was beached to prevent her from sinking. After World War II, she was repaired and returned to service.[1]

Notes
  1. "Albatros Destroyer 1930–1942". Wrecksite. Retrieved 10 November 2013.

References
  • 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.


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