French destroyer Volta
Volta
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| History | |
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 France
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| Name: | Volta |
| Namesake: | Volta River |
| Builder: | At. & Ch. de Bretagne Nantes |
| Laid down: | 24 December 1934 |
| Launched: | 26 November 1936 |
| Commissioned: | 6 March 1939 |
| Fate: | Scuttled at Toulon, 27 November 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Mogador-class destroyer |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 137.5 m (451 ft 1 in) |
| Beam: | 12.57 m (41 ft 3 in) |
| Draft: | 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in) |
| Installed power: | 92,000 shp (69,000 kW) |
| Propulsion: | 2 shafts, 2 Rateau-Bretagne geared steam turbines, 4 Indret boilers |
| Speed: | 39 knots (72 km/h; 45 mph) |
| Range: |
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| Complement: | 12 officers, 226 men |
| Armament: |
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Volta was a Mogador-class destroyer (French: contre-torpilleur) of the French Navy. Named for the West African river, she was built before the outbreak of World War II and was the penultimate contre-torpilleur built by the French Navy. Along with her sister ship Mogador, Volta was designed in an effort to build a ship capable of out-fighting every other ship below her tonnage. Arguably the design was less than successful, as it possessed the armament of a light cruiser on the hull of a destroyer. The two ships of the class have been described as having pushed the contre-torpilleur concept beyond "the limits of its capabilities".
During Volta's service with the French Navy, she saw only limited action. Following the outbreak of the war, she took part in convoy escort duties initially before being withdrawn to Brest for refit. On 3 July 1940, when the British attacked the French fleet at Mers-el-Kébir, Volta managed to escape without damage and sought refuge in Toulon. When the Germans tried to seize her along with the rest of the fleet on 27 November 1942, however, she was scuttled in Toulon Harbour by her crew to prevent her from being captured.
Volta had an overall length of 137.5 meters (451 ft 1 in), a beam of 12.57 meters (41 ft 3 in), and a maximum draft of 4.74 meters (15 ft 7 in). She displaced 2,997 metric tons (2,950 long tons) at standard load and 4,018 metric tons (3,955 long tons) at deep load. The Rateau-Bretagne geared steam turbines were designed to produce 92,000 shaft horsepower (68,604 kW), which would propel the ship at 39 knots (72 km/h; 45 mph). However, during sea trials in February 1938, Volta's turbines provided 108,424 shp (80,852 kW) and she reached 41.67 knots (77.17 km/h; 47.95 mph) at a deep displacement of 3,731 metric tons (3,672 long tons). The ship carried 360 metric tons (354 long tons) of fuel oil at normal load and an additional 350 metric tons (340 long tons) at deep load.
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