La Melpomène-class torpedo boat

Class overview
Name	La Melpoméne
Completed	13
Lost	6
General characteristics
Type	Destroyer
Displacement	610 tons standard, 834 tons full load
Length	81 m
Beam	10.5 m
Draught	2.65 m
Propulsion	Geared turbines, 5 boilersgiving 55000 SHP, 2 shafts
Speed	34.5 knots
Complement	8 officers, 94 men
Armament	2x 100 mm (3.9 in) guns 2 x 37 mm /50 DCA - 3.7 cm Mod 1933 AA guns 2 x 13 mm/50 DCA - 1.3 cm Mod 1927 machineguns 3 x 550 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes

The La Melpoméne class was a group of 13 French torpedo boats built from 1933. Was one of the most fastest ships of the time, because had a speed of 34.5 knots; although the French built the ship as torpedo boats, due to their size and structure the class is considered as destroyer escorts.

Ships in class

After served with Marine Nationale the class saw service in World War II with Kriegsmarine, Marine Nationale de´l´Armistice (Vichy French Navy), Regia Marina, Free French Navy, Royal Navy and US Navy

Ship	Builder	Commissioned	Fate
La Melpoméne	AC de Bretagne, Nantes	12 November 1936	Sold in 1950
La Pomone	Arsenal de Lorient	6 December 1936	see below
La Flore	AC de Bretagne, Nantes	17 November 1936	Sold in 1950
L`Iphigénie	AT Ch de La Loire, St Nazaire	21 November 1936	see below
La Bayonnaise	C Maritimes du Sud Ouest, Bordeaux	7 April 1938	see below
Bombarde	AC de Bretagne, Nantes	1 August 1938	see below
L`Incomprise	AC de La Seyne, Toulon	12 March 1938	see below
La Poursuivante	AC de La Seyne, Toulon	10 November 1937	see below
La Cordelière	AC Augustin-Normand, Le Havre	11 November 1937	see below
Branlebas	AC Augustin-Normand, Le Havre	10 March 1938	Stranded and wrecked on Firth of Clyde in 14 December 1940
Baliste	AC de France, Dunkirk	14 May 1938	see below
Bouclier	AC Augustin-Normand, Le Haver	6 August 1938	see below

• La Pomone was captured by the U.S at Oran during operation Torch in November 1942, and was used as gunnery school ship at NAS Anacostia during the remain of the war, before being decommissioned in 1952

• L`Iphigénie and Le Bombarde was captured by the Germans at Bizerte in December 1942 and subsequently was transferred to Italy, entering in Italian service as FR41 and FR42 respectively; both ships fall again in German hands during the Italian armistice of September 1943, was renamed as TA10 ans TA11 and was used as escort destroyers after her torpedo-tubes was removed: TA11 was shelled and sunk by Italian tanks and destroyers at Piombino in November 1943, and TA10 was torpedoed by the Greek submarine Pipinos at Rhodes in 26 September 1943 and scuttled by her crew to the next day. The wreck of TA11 was salvaged and scrapped in 1948-1949.

• L`Incomprise, La Cordelière, Branlebas and Bouclier was all seized by the British at Portsmouth in 3 July 1940; L`Incomprise, La Cordelière and Bouclier was returned to her original French owners. The Branlebas was retained by the Royal Navy and used as destroyer escort before being sunk off the Lizard, the furthest point in England and 25 miles of Eddystone, in 14 December 1940. The other 3 ships served with Free French Forces and all was decommissioned between 1950 and 1951: by some circumstances, Bouclier was first transferred to Royal Dutch Navy and renamed as HNLMS Bouclier, but due to her bad performance at high seas, she was returned to the French forces in January 1941, after only 5 months in Dutch service, and was decommissioned in 1949. Finally, the wreck of Branlebas was raised and scrapped in 1954

• La Flore and La Melpoméne escaped of Brest in 22 June 1940, to avoid her destruction in harbor, arriving to Dakar in July 4. After the operation Torch, both ships joined to the Allies and was reclassified as destroyer escorts, serving at the Atlantic in the protection of convoys. Finally, the ships returned to France in August 1945 and was decommissioned in 1950 and sold for scrap

• Baliste, La Poursuivante and La Bayonnaise were scuttled in Toulon in November 27, 1942, to avoid her capture. The ships was raised by the Italians in February 1943 and was renamed as FR43, FR44 and FR45 respectively, but only FR44 and FR45 was repaired, while FR43 was used as target ship: all was taken over by the Germans after the Italian armistice and was renamed as TA12, TA13 and TA14, but only TA13 (FR44) and TA14 (FR45) served as combat units because TA12 (FR43) was too damaged for being repaired, and was used as target ship. TA12 was scuttled as blockship in Toulon in August 1944, TA13 was sunk by U.S aerial bombs in November 1943, and TA14 was scuttled on Gotenhafen in March 1945; the wrecks of the 3 ships was salvaged and scrapped after the war ended.

External links

• Images of the class