Le Fantasque-class destroyer

The Le Fantasque class of six large, very fast destroyers was ordered under the French naval programme of 1930. They served in World War II for both Vichy France and the Free French Forces. The Le Fantasque-class ships were designed to counter the fast Italian light cruisers, and one member of the class, , exceeded during trials to set a world record for a conventionally-hulled ship. They had an overall length of , a beam of , and a draft of . The ships displaced at standard and at deep load. The crew of the Le Fantasque class consisted of 11 officers and 221 crewmen in peacetime and the number of the latter increasing to 254 in wartime. The ships were powered by two geared Rateau-Breguet or Parsons steam turbines, each driving one three-bladed propeller, using steam provided by four water-tube boilers with superheaters that operated at a pressure of and a temperature of . The turbines were designed to produce which was intended give the ships a speed of . During their sea trials, each of the ships greatly exceeded their designed speed, ranging from from . They carried a maximum of of fuel oil which gave them a range of at ; the Parsons-equipped ships were more economical. The ships were fitted with two turbo generators in the engine rooms. In addition, a pair of diesel generators were located in the aft engine room. The main armament of the Le Fantasques consisted of five 50-caliber Canon de Modèle 1929 guns in single shielded mounts, one superfiring pair fore and aft of the superstructure and the fifth gun abaft the aft funnel. Their mounts had a range of elevation from −10° to +30°, which gave the guns a range of at maximum elevation. They fired projectiles at a muzzle velocity of at a rate of 8 to 12 rounds per minute. The Le Fantasques could stow 200 rounds for each gun, plus 75 star shells. Their anti-aircraft (AA) armament consisted of two 50-caliber semi-automatic Modèle 1925 AA guns in single mounts positioned amidships. Their mounts could elevate from −15° to +80° and the guns had a maximum effective range of .