- Yes
- Yes, as a premium/event
- No
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
http://www.navypedia.org/ships/france/fr_dd_surcouf.htm
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
