T47 destroyer Surcouf, the last contre-torpilleur

Arghail · August 5, 2023, 4:41pm

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Escorteur d’escadre Surcouf

The last contre-torpilleur

About the T47 class and its interest in War Thunder

The T47 class is the first class of French warships built after the war. It integrates every lessons learned, especially the hard way, about the lack of AA among WW2 french designs. As such, it is a unique machine in the roster of French destroyer as it is the last heir of the French contre-torpilleur design (it borrows heavily from the Mogador series), but more oriented toward an AA role with dual-purpose artillery. Thus, I believe it would be a nice addition as an AA destroyer in the game, and a welcomed gameplay change from the usual heavy french destroyers hitters.

T47 class, a modern AA destroyer.

The 1950’s in France saw the modernisation of their entire fleet, and the renewal of the French naval industry. The idea was to slowly bring back French made equipment into the Marine Nationale, which was mostly relying on American or British made equipment since the end of the war. The first heavy surface warship class born from this initiative was the T47 class, known as “Escorteur d’escadre”, or flotilla escort ships. These heavy destroyers heavily borrowed from the pre-war Mogador class, with however, an emphasis on AA and anti-submarine capabilities, and they were equipped with brand new French-made dual-purpose 127mm AA canons, as well as 57mm canons and anti-sub torpedo tubes. 12 of those ships were commissioned between 1955 and 1957, the first of which being the Surcouf.

About the Surcouf :

After extensive trials, it was the first of its class to be commissioned on november 1st, 1955. Its first operations was to escort battleship Jean Bart during a presidential visit to Denmark. After which it participated to the Suez Crisis, as well as the Algerian war, patrolling the coast. It was almost used to shell the coast during the revolt of Bab-el-Oued in 1962 but the order was ultimately cancelled to avoid unnecessary loss of life. Early 1961, it was transformed into a command escort ship, and lost a turret in favor of more space and a command bridge to accomodate for the role. Already severely damaged by a collision with a cargo ship in 1961, bad luck would strike again 10 years later, as the ship collided with the Soviet tanker General Busharov on the night of June 6th, 1971. The ship was almost cut in half by the impact and 10 sailors were killed. The bow of the ship sank shortly after while being towed, and the ship was decommissioned as the damages were too extensive. The hull was sunk by an Exocet missile a few year later as a target practice.

General Characteristics :
|Tonnage: 2750 tons (standard) 3750 tons (max overload)
|Length:|128,60 m|
|Beam:|12.71 m|
|Draught:|5 m|
|||
|Propulsion:|Parson steam turbines

63 000 HP|
|Cruise speed :

Max Speed:|34 knots (63 km/h)

38 knots (70.4 km/h)|
|Range:|5000 nautical miles at 18 knots|

Crew : 347 men

Armament (original, 1955) :

6 x 127mm mle 1948 canons (3 x 2)
6 x 57mm mle 1951 AA canons (3 x 2)
4 x 20mm autocanons (4 x 1)
6 x 550mm short tubes anti-sub TLT (2 x 3)
6 x 550mm long tubes anti-ship TLT (2 x 3)

Armament (command ship, 1961) :

6 x 127mm mle 1948 canons (3 x 2)
4 x 57mm mle 1951 AA canons (2 x 2)
4 x 20mm autocanons (4 x 1)
6 x 550mm short tubes anti-sub TLT (2 x 3)

About the 127mm mle 1948 canons :

Spoiler

https://2img.net/h/www.dynamic-mess.com/Media/Images/forb127.JPG

About the Turrets :

Designation	Twin Mounts
Weight	48 tons (49 mt)
Elevation	-10 / +80 degrees
Rate of Elevation	N/A
Train	about -150 / +150 degrees
Rate of Train	N/A
Gun Recoil	N/A

About the Gun

Designation	127 mm/54 (5") Model 1948
Ship Class Used On	Surcouf (T47), Duperré (T53), De Grasse and Colbert classes
Date Of Design	1948
Date In Service	1956
Gun Weight	N/A
Gun Length	N/A
Bore Length	About 270.0 in (6.858 m)
Rifling Length	N/A
Grooves	N/A
Lands	N/A
Twist	N/A
Chamber Volume	825.38 in3 (13.525 dm3)
Rate Of Fire	15 - 18 rounds per minute

About the 57mm mle 52 canons :

Spoiler

Rate of Fire : 120 rpm (240rpm for the turret)
Mass 17.3 tonnes
barrel length 60 calibres
Crew 8
calibre 57 mm
Elevation : -8° to 93°
Muzzle velocity : - 956 m/s
Effective firing range : - 3000 m (practical)
More infos : Sweden 57 mm/60 (2.25") SAK Model 1950 - NavWeaps

About the 550mm torpedoes :

Spoiler

Long tubes :

Type ** ** Year ** ** Usage ** ** Propulsion ** ** Diameter ** ** weight ** ** length ** ** Speed ** ** Range ** ** Immersion ** ** Vector ** **

24Q 1924 Surface pres. air 550mm 1720kg 7,12m 35 knts 15km N/A surf. ship

Short tubes :

Type	**	Year	**	Usage **	**	Propulsion **	**	Diameter **	**	weight **	**	length **	**	Speed **	**	Range **	**	Immersion	**	Vector	**
L3	1961	sub/surf	elec. engine	550mm	910kg	4.30m	25 knts	5km	300 meters	surf. ship

PHOTOS :

Plans :

Spoiler

After 1961 modifications :

Photos of the Surcouf (original loadout):

Spoiler

Photos of the 1961 modifications :

Spoiler

VIDEO :

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXp69szqk9o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsTg_YGd4N0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QB7UBVbEPNk

SOURCES :

Spoiler

SURCOUF destroyers (1955 - 1957)
Caractéristiques
Escorteur d'escadre Surcouf
https://ceach.fr/index.php/les-associations-membres/mer/aammac-34/aammac-34/2016-06-13-22-04-24/3337-lescorteur-descadre-surcouf-d-621
Escorteurs d'escadre T47
France 127 mm/54 (5") Model 1948 - NavWeaps
Sweden 57 mm/60 (2.25") SAK Model 1950 - NavWeaps
MOULIN JEAN, Escorteurs d’Escadre, MARINES éditions, Nantes, 1997

_Bj0rn · August 5, 2023, 4:55pm

+1 it would be a very good addition to compete with the American DDs. The problem is that, as usual, Gaijin will surely choose the upgraded versions because they are less well armed.

PARDUS IX@live · September 15, 2023, 11:55pm

Rival to the ingame RU Pr-56 class destroyers and has a version with tartar missiles similar in configuration to the Bravy ingame. France needs its post ww2 ships especially the Colbert and the De Grasse.