The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia

2610 Tonnes Class, French Destroyers

Photograph of 2610 Tonnes class destroyer

Tonnage	2569 tons standard
Dimensions	434'6" by 40'6" by 16'6" 132.4m by 12.25m by 5.01m
Maximum speed	37 knots nominal. On trials, all units exceeded design specifications, achieving 41 knots or more.
Complement	210
Armament	4x1 5.5"/50 guns 1 4"/45 dual-purpose gun 2x1 2-pdr 2x2 37mm AA guns 1x4, 2x2, 2x1 12.7mm/62 machine guns 3x3 21.7" torpedo tubes 2 depth charge tracks (16 depth charges) 50 mines
Machinery	2-shaft Parsons geared turbines (74,000 shp) 4 Penhoët small-tube vertical boilers
Bunkerage	580 tons fuel oil
Range	4000 nautical miles (7400km) at 15 knots
Sensors	British sonar and radar
Modifications	1942: 7x1 20mm Oerlikon AA guns added. 1944-4: Removed the 4" gun, the 2-pdr mount, the 37mm guns, all machine guns, and one bank of torpedo tubes. Added one 5.5"/50 gun, 3x2 40mm Bofors AA guns, 10 single 20mm guns, and radar and increased bunkerage to 730 tons.

The French 2610 tonne destroyers (also described as the Le Fantasque class) were very advanced and modern ships, the first of the contre-torpilleurs, and compared favorably with some light cruisers. Completed in 1935-1936 in private yards, they featured a powerful new 5.5" gun and had excellent subdivision, with boiler rooms and engine rooms laid out alternately. However, their torpedoes were arranged such that only six tubes could fire to either beam, and their antiaircraft armament was poor for ships of this size, the main guns having no antiaircraft capability.

The only unit of this class to see service in the Pacific, Le Triomphant, was misused as an escort vessel (for which it lacked the necessary endurance) and to cover various small troop movements early in the war.

Units in the Pacific:

Le Triomphant

Noumea
Withdrawn 1944-4
Arrived 1944-7

References

Gogin (2010; accessed 2012-12-31)

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