Le Hardi - class destroyer, Mameluk 1942

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Destroyer Mameluk, 1942

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The destroyer Mameluk in the Toulon area on August 10, 1942 after modernization: the hull number was changed, 25-mm automatic guns and 13.2-mm machine guns were installed on the bow superstructure, the stern pair of Brownings was moved from the poop deck to the platforms of the aft elevated turret, and the tricolor neutrality mark was moved from turret II to turret III.

History

Spoiler

Mameluk is a Le Hardi-class destroyer of the French Navy. It entered service during World War II on the eve of the conclusion of the Treaty on June 18, 1940. Armistice of Compiegne. On November 27, 1942, it was sunk in Toulon. Soon raised by the Italians and, due to being beyond repair, returned to the French authorities. Seriously damaged during Allied bomber raids - August 8, 1943, April 6 and 27, 1944 and was scrapped before the end of military operations.

Service history

By the time the Compiegne Armistice was signed on 18 June 1940, all the Le Hardi-class destroyers were in various states of readiness at the shipyards. Le Hardi itself had just completed trials and was officially commissioned into the active fleet on 2 June. On the 12th, it hurriedly conducted firing exercises near Brest, and in the following two days it escorted the battleship Richelieu, which was leaving for trials.

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Destroyer Mameluk, 19 December 1940.

The Marine Nationale command made every effort to ensure that none of these modern ships fell into the hands of the Germans, who were in dire need of destroyers after the losses they had suffered at Narvik. The transfer of the “1,800-tonners” from Atlantic ports to African bases sometimes took place under truly dramatic conditions.

Unlike the lead ship of the series, which entered service in a more or less standard mode, the other destroyers left France in a state of incomplete readiness. Fleuret and Épée had barely completed their mooring and sea trials, but had untested artillery. They, along with Casque and Mameluk, which had just begun trials, were urgently accepted into the fleet and began to be prepared for evacuation.

On June 15, Admiral of the West (Commandant der Forces Maritime Quest) Vice-Admiral Jean de Laborde received an order from the General Naval Staff to ensure the evacuation of the battleships Richelieu and Jean Bart, which were still under construction. On June 18, De Laborde raised his flag on Le Hardi (commander - Captain 3rd Rank De Tannenberg), which at 21:25 cast off from the pier in Brest together with Richelieu. The following day, leaving the battleship in the care of the destroyers Frondeur and Fougueux, Le Hardi headed for Saint-Nazaire, where German troops were already approaching, to ensure the exit of Jean Bart, which was in a low state of readiness and practically devoid of anti-aircraft weapons.

At 06:30 on 20 June, Le Hardi joined Jean Bart, Mameluk and the tankers Tarn and Odet, which had left Saint-Nazaire with supplies of fuel oil and water. A few hours later, the British destroyer HMS Vanquisher arrived with two tugs to escort the French ships to Britain in accordance with the previously reached agreements. The offer was politely declined, and, having taken on fuel from the tankers, the detachment headed west, and after rounding Cape Finisterre, moved south. The following day, it was joined by Épée, which had left Casablanca. Perhaps two circumstances are worth noting: firstly, the course for the passage was plotted on Le Hardi, since the battleship did not have a working gyrocompass; secondly, Mameluk developed a speed of 24 knots without problems, although its propulsion system had not undergone a full cycle of trials. Fortunately, the nearly 1,000-mile voyage passed without incident, and by 5 p.m. on 22 June, Jean Bart and the destroyers accompanying her entered Casablanca harbour.

The events of Dakar had demonstrated the vulnerability of the African bases, so the Marine Nationale command decided to concentrate the backbone of the fleet, which included the most modern ships, in the Mediterranean. In early November, five of the seven “1,800-ton” destroyers that had left the metropolis in June assembled at Mers-el-Kebir. Le Hardi itself moved from Dakar to Casablanca on 30 September, and to Oran on 25 October; Fleuret had been there since 15 October; Épée, Mameluk and Lansquenet arrived on 5 November. The following day, all the ships were ordered to proceed to Toulon, escorting the old battleship Provence. They arrived at the fleet’s main base on 8 November.

Back in September, the 10th destroyer division was formed, which included Épée (hull number T101), Le Hardi (T102) and Fleuret (T103), but before the sixth ship of the series (Casque) entered service, it was decided to include the remaining two in it. As a result, Lansquenet received the hull number T104, and Mameluk - T105. Belonging to the division was indicated by one narrow white mark on the first smokestack. However, the division was unlikely to ever operate at full strength. Soon after arriving in Toulon, Le Hardi was put into repairs, which lasted until mid-January 1941, and Fleuret was completely withdrawn into reserve and never returned to the active fleet. Mameluk stood in reserve from March 1941 to August 1942. Completion of the ships remaining in the shipyards also ceased to be a priority task. The change of names did not affect the activity of the destroyers, which was limited mainly to short-term trips to the Salins-Hyères roadstead for combat training. Against this background, only L’Adroit (former Épée) stands out: from 13 to 18 April 1941, she escorted merchant ships making the transition from Bordeaux to Casablanca, and from 3 to 9 June - from Casablanca to Dakar and from 15 to 21 July - back, then from 23 to 25 July she escorted a convoy from Casablanca to Oran, from where she returned to Toulon. Mameluk also left for Morocco on 8 May, returning to Toulon on 17 August. Le Hardi escorted transports with demobilized military personnel from Algeria to Marseilles from 3 to 5 July.

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Destroyer Mameluk, 4 March 1941.

On 1 November 1941, the 10th Division, previously subordinate to the Toulon Naval District, was incorporated into the High Seas Force (Force de Haute Mer) and joined the 3rd Light Squadron, commanded by Rear Admiral Negadel. On 1 May 1942, Le Hardi was replaced in the division by Casque, which entered service (although the latter did not become combat-ready until two months later) and was placed in reserve on 20 May. Casque received the hull number T105, while the Mameluk, which had previously carried it, received the number T103. On 20 August, the German and Italian armistice commissions allowed Bison (formerly Le Flibustier) to be completed, but by November it was only 75% complete.

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Destroyer Mameluk in the Toulon area on March 4, 1941.

The fateful day for the French fleet, November 27, 1942, all the Le Hardi-class destroyers listed in service met in Toulon and shared the fate of most of the ships there. At the same time, only L’Adroit, Casque and Mameluk were in the campaign, while Le Hardi, Foudroyant, Siroco, Lansquenet and Bison were listed in reserve. When at 05:20 the signal “Take final measures” was received from the flagship Strasbourg, Mameluk and Casque were in the Vauban basin, moored to the Artillery pier, Lansquenet was in the outfitting basin of the shipyard in La Seine, the remaining destroyers were at the Nouel pier. All the ships were conscientiously scuttled, and Casque and Mameluk were also blown up and sank to the bottom with a strong list. The further fate of the destroyers was in the hands of the enemy. The Germans were not very interested in the sunken French fleet, but on December 3 the Italians declared all the sunken ships confiscated and formed the “Italian Rescue Company of Toulon” (Ente Recuperi Italiani a Tolone) to raise them, under the leadership of General of the Corps of Naval Engineers Odoardo Giannelli. Some of the ships were planned to be repaired and included in the Italian fleet, all the more or less valuable equipment and materials were removed from the rest, and everything else was cut off and sent to Italy as scrap metal.

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Destroyer Mameluk, 10 August 1942.

Since most of the Le Hardi-class destroyers did not have full crews on board when they sank, their damage was not as significant as the French would have liked. The Italians were very interested in obtaining modern destroyers to compensate for their heavy losses and decided to raise six units: Siroco, L’Adroit, Lansquenet, Bison, Foudroyant and Le Hardi, which were given the letter-numeral designations FR-32…FR-37. Mameluk and Casque were declared unrepairable. Mameluk and Casque, which were completely disabled, were returned to the French authorities after being raised.

Mameluk was seriously damaged during Allied bomber raids (August 8, 1943, April 6 and 27, 1944) and was scrapped before the end of hostilities. Casque was also bombed on 6 August 1943 and 24 April 1944 and was broken up at Port-de-Bouquet.

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Destroyer Mameluk, sunk in Toulon. 13.2 mm Browning machine guns on the bridge.

More historical photos

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The aft turrets of the destroyer Mameluk, which had the individual names Damiette and Le Caire. The platforms of the 13.2 mm Browning machine guns are clearly visible, as are the anti-submarine mortars on the upper deck.

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Hotchkiss 25 mm/60 Mle 1939 on the forward superstructure of Mameluk, 1942.

Protection:

  • Main caliber armor - 20/20/20 mm. forehead / side / rear / roof

Technical component:

  • Crew - 187
  • Standard displacement: 1936 t
  • Full-load displacement: 2417 t
  • Max length: 117,20 m
  • Max width: 11,10 m
  • Average draft at trial state: 4,20 m
  • Main boiler: 2 TZA “Parsons”
  • Main engine: 4 Steam boiler “Sural-Penhoёt”
  • Power: 61000
  • Speed: 39 knots
Spoiler


Boiler Sural of the destroyer “1800-ton” type. Copy of the original drawing


Longitudinal section of a destroyer Le Hardi

Weapon:

  • 3х2 - 130 mm/45 (5.1") Models 1935
  • 1x2 - 37 mm/50 (1.46") CAIL Model 1933
  • 2x1 - 25 mm/60 Hotchkiss Mle 1939
  • 4x1 - 13,2 mm (0.5") Browning M.1939
  • 2x2 - 13,2 mm (0.5") Model 1929
  • 2x2 - 550mm Torpedo tubes
  • 1x3 - 550mm Torpedo tubes
  • 2х1 - “Bomb Tunnel Type Dropper”, 12 depth charges


Diagram of the destroyer Mameluk, August 1942.

All resources:

  • Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7
  • Jordan, John & Moulin, Jean (2015). French Destroyers: Torpilleurs d’Escadre & Contre-Torpilleurs 1922–1956. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-198-4.
  • Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
  • Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1.
  • Campbell, John (1985). Naval Weapons of World War II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-459-4.
  • Destroyers of World War Two. Whitley, M. J.
5 Likes

A +1 from me! It’s a shame we still don’t have a Le-Hardi-class Destroyer in-game. Hopefully it comes sooner rather than later

I can’t help but note that, among other things, this is also a rather beautiful and aesthetically pleasing ship.

Great photos that give a good idea of the modernization.

1 Like