Destroyer of the French Navy
Typhon was a ("torpilleur d'escadre") built for the French Navy during the 1920s.
After France surrendered to Germany in June 1940 during World War II, "Typhon" served with the navy of Vichy France.
Design and description.
The "Bourrasque" class had an overall length of , a beam of , and a draft of . The ships displaced at (standard) load and at deep load. They were powered by two geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by three du Temple boilers. The turbines were designed to produce , which would propel the ship at . The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of at .
The main armament of the "Bourrasque"-class ships consisted of four Canon de Modèle 1919 guns in shielded single mounts, one superfiring pair each fore and aft of the superstructure. Their anti-aircraft (AA) armament consisted of a single Canon de Modèle 1924 gun. The ships carried two triple mounts of torpedo tubes amidships. A pair of depth charge chutes were built into their stern that housed a total of sixteen depth charges.
Construction and career.
She was at Oran, French Algeria, as part of the 7th Destroyer Squadron of the Marine Nationale when the Allies invaded French North Africa in Operation Torch in November 1942. On 8 November 1942, "Typhon" engaged the British cutter HMS "Hartland" from very short distance, sinking her in the harbour in a matter of minutes, when the Allied vessel was in the process of landing American troops. Later in the morning, "Typhon" and her sister ships "Tramontane" and "Tornade" steamed away in an attempt to attack Allied naval forces at Arzew Bay. The destroyer squadron was met with heavy fire by the British cruiser HMS "Aurora". "Typhon" launched all her six torpedoes at the cruiser to no avail; her sisters were repeatedly hit by 6in shells. "Tramontane" was sunk and "Tornade" ran aground, while "Typhoon" returned to port with half her ammunition expended and without torpedoes, all of them launched at "Aurora" to no avail. "Tramontane"'s survivors were also aboard. "Typhon" confronted the Allies once again on 9 November, this time with her sister "Epervier." The destroyer attack was beaten off by the British cruisers "Jamaica" and "Aurora;" "Epervier" was hit and beached herself, while "Typhon" sailed back to Oran, where she was eventually scuttled by her own crew on 10 November 1942.
Notes.
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