Mogador-class destroyer
Volta
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Mogador-class destroyer |
| Operators: |
 French Navy
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| Preceded by: | Le Fantasque class |
| Succeeded by: | T 47 class |
| Completed: | 2 |
| Lost: | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Large destroyer |
| Displacement: | |
| 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: |
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| Speed: | 39 knots (72 km/h; 45 mph) |
| Range: |
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| Complement: | 12 officers, 226 men |
| Armament: |
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The Mogador-class large destroyers (contre-torpilleurs) of the French Navy were laid down in 1935 and commissioned in 1939. They were extremely fast, very large destroyers intended to act as scouts for the two fast Dunkerque-class battleships. The design evolved from the extremely fast Le Fantasque class, being 300 tons heavier and carrying eight guns in semi-enclosed twin turrets rather than five guns in single open mounts. With their eight 138 mm (5.4 in) guns they approached a light cruiser in firepower.
Both Mogador and her sister Volta were present during the British attack on Mers-el-Kébir on 3 July 1940, but only Volta managed to escape to Toulon. Mogador was struck by a 15-inch (38 cm) shell in the rear hull that detonated her ready depth charges despite not actually detonating itself. This destroyed most of her stern above water, but she remained afloat and was repaired enough to be sent to Toulon on 1 November 1940 for reconstruction. Both ships were scuttled in Toulon Harbour when the Germans tried to seize them on 27 November 1942.
The Mogador class was authorized in the 1932 Estimates as an improved version of the Fantasque class with three new twin mounts carrying the same Canon de 138 mm Modèle 1929 gun as the earlier ships, but construction was suspended for a period while France and Italy negotiated some limits on their fleets and because the shipyards were already at full capacity. During this pause time was taken to modify the design to deal with the severe weather and conditions of the North Atlantic and to incorporate developments in propulsion technology that indicated that a larger hull could be used without any requiring any increase in weight. After a proposal for a catapult was abandoned because of insufficient reserve stability, an extra twin turret was decided upon to boost the ship's firepower. Volta was authorized in the 1934 Estimates together with the second Dunkerque-class battleship.
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Wikipedia