The ''Aigle''-class destroyers (''contre-torpilleurs'') were built for the

French navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

during the 1920s. They were very similar to the previous ''Guepard'' class, the only difference being improved machinery with higher pressure boilers, offering an additional of speed and a new model 138 mm gun with a sliding breech block giving a higher rate of fire. The ships were named after birds.

Ships

* ''Aigle'' (

Eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

; pennant numbers 5, 6 and X13) :Built by

Ateliers et Chantiers de France The Ateliers et Chantiers de France (ACF, Workshops and Shipyards of France) was a major shipyard that was established in Dunkirk, France, in 1898. The shipyard boomed in the period before World War I (1914–18), but struggled in the inter-war p ...

, Dunkirk :Launched 19 February 1931 :Completed 10 October 1932 :Scuttled 27 November 1942 :Refloated 10 July 1943. :Bombed and sunk 24 November 1943 :Broken up in situ 1952. * ''Vautour'' (

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

; pennant numbers 6, 5, 73, X71) :Built by

Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée Forges or Les Forges may refer to: In Belgium *Forges, Belgium, a village and a former municipality that is now a part of Chimay, Wallonia In France *Forges, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department * Forges, Maine-et-Loire, in th ...

, La Seyne :Launched 26 August 1930 :Completed 2 May 1932 :Scuttled 27 November 1942 :Refloated 17 January 1943 :Bombed and sunk 4 February 1944 :Broken up in situ 1951 * ''Albatros'' (3, 2, 5, 72, X73, X77, F762, D614) :built by Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire, Nantes :Launched 27 June 1930 :Completed 25 December 1931 :Decommissioned 9 September 1959 * ''Gerfaut'' ( Gyrfalcon - 4, 71, X72) :Built by Ateliers et Chantiers de Bretagne, Nantes :Launched 14 June 1930 :Completed 30 January 1932 :Scuttled 27 November 1942 :Refloated 1 June 1943. :Partly scrapped June–September 1943 :Hulk bombed and sunk 7 March 1944 :Broken up in situ 1948 * ''Milan'' ( Kite - 1, 4, X113, X111) :Built by Arsenal de Lorient :Launched 13 October 1931 :Completed 20 April 1934 - :On 8 November 1942, off Casablanca, she was hit by shells from the US fleet and had to be beached. * ''Épervier'' ( Sparrowhawk - 2, 5, X112) :Built by Arsenal de Lorient, :Launched 14 August 1931 :Completed 1 April 1934 - :On 9 November 1942 she was sunk by off Oran. She was raised, and eventually broken up in 1946.

Service history

Three of the ships (''Albatros'', ''Épervier'' and ''Milan'') were stationed in Morocco as part of the

Vichy French Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

navy, and engaged

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

forces in the battle of Casablanca during

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – Run for Tunis, 16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of secu ...

. Along with the unfinished battleship , they engaged the Allied 'Covering Group', a taskforce based on the battleship . ''Milan'' and ''Épervier'' both ran aground after being damaged in the battle; ''Albatros'' was damaged but, after her capture, was repaired after the war and used as a gunnery training vessel. ''Aigle'' was scuttled at

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

, France, on 27 November 1942. She was later refloated and sunk a second time by

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

bombers on 24 November 1943. Later she was salvaged and scrapped. ''Vautour'' and ''Gerfaut'' were also scuttled at Toulon, but ''Vautour'' was raised again and sunk during an air raid on 4 February 1944.

References

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External links

''Aigle''-class at uboat.net
{{WWII French ships Destroyer classes World War II destroyers of France Ship classes of the French Navy