French destroyer Aigle

Aigle shortly after being launched, 1931
History
France
Name	Aigle
Namesake	Eagle
Builder	Ateliers et Chantiers de France, Dunkirk
Launched	19 February 1931
Completed	10 October 1932
Fate	Scuttled, 27 November 1942
General characteristics
Class and type	Aigle-class destroyer
Displacement	2,441 t (2,402 long tons) (standard)
Length	128.5 m (421 ft 7 in)
Beam	11.8 m (38 ft 9 in)
Draught	4.4 m (14 ft 5 in)
Installed power	4 du Temple boilers 64,000 PS (47,000 kW; 63,000 shp)
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 geared steam turbines
Speed	36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph)
Range	3,650 nmi (6,760 km; 4,200 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Crew	10 officers, 217 crewmen (wartime)
Armament	5 × single 138.6 mm (5.5 in) guns 4 × single 37 mm (1.5 in) AA guns 2 × triple 550 mm (21.7 in) torpedo tubes 2 chutes, 4 throwers for 44 depth charges

The French destroyer Aigle was the lead ship of her class of destroyers (contre-torpilleurs) built for the French Navy during the 1920s.

Service

During World War II, Aigle was engaged in operations to transport gold bars several times. In November 1939, she escorted Force 'Z' ships (the battleship Lorraine and two cruisers of the La Galissonnière class) until they reached the Atlantic. In March–April 1940, Aigle provided cover and later escorted the ships of Force 'X' back. Besides that, Aigle was regularly deployed to escort convoys with troops, heading from the North African ports to Marseille. The last combat operation in which the large destroyer participated was a raid on Genoa on the night of 13/14 June 1940, as part of Operation Vado, where she had to fend off the attacks of Italian torpedo boats.

After France surrendered to Germany in June 1940 during World War II, Aigle served with the navy of Vichy France. She was among the ships of the French fleet scuttled at Toulon, France, on 27 November 1942. Later refloated, she was sunk a second time at Toulon by United States Army Air Forces bombers on 24 November 1943. Her wreck later was again salvaged and scrapped.^[1]

Notes

References

• Cernuschi, Enrico & O'Hara, Vincent P. (2013). "Toulon: The Self-Destruction and Salvage of the French Fleet". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2013. London: Conway. pp. 134–148. ISBN 978-1-84486-205-4.
• 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.