French destroyer Ouragan

The Ouragan
Career (France)
Namesake:	Hurricane
Builder:	Chantiers Navals Francais (Caen, France)
Laid down:	3 April 1923
Launched:	6 December 1924
Commissioned:	19 January 1927
Fate:	Scrapped in 1949
General characteristics
Class and type:	Bourrasque class destroyers
Displacement:	standard: 1,320 tons full load: 1,730 tons
Length:	106 metres
Beam:	10.1 m
Draught:	4.3 m
Propulsion:	Geared turbines, 2 shafts, 31,000 shp
Speed:	33 knots
Range:	2,300 nm (at 14 knots)
Complement:	145
Armament:	4 x 130mm (5.1") guns (4x1), later reduced to 3 2 x 37 mm anti-aircraft (2x1) 4 x 13.2 mm anti-aircraft (2x2) 6 x 550 mm (21.7") torpedo tubes (2x3) 2 depth charge throwers 2 depth charge launchers

Ouragan (French: "hurricane") was a French Bourrasque class destroyer, commissioned in 1927. During World War II, she served with a Polish crew from 18 June 1940 until 30 April 1941.

During the first year of World War II, Ouragan served with the 4th Destroyer Division with the destroyers Bourrasque and Brest.

At the time of the German invasion of France in 1940, she was undergoing engine repairs at Brest. The Royal Navy towed her to Devonport where the repairs were completed. After the French surrender in June, the British commandeered her on 3 July and she was transferred to the Polish Navy on 17 July 1940. Until 30 April 1941 she sailed under the Polish ensign (using pennant number H16) but as OF Ouragan (OF - Okręt Francuski - "French ship"), instead of the usual ORP prefix. She was commanded by Lieutenant Commander T. Gorazdowski; most of Ouragan's crew were transferred from Grom, which had been sunk on 4 May 1940, during the Battle of Narvik.

Ouragan participated in operations around the British Isles, during which she suffered storm damage (flooded engine and boiler rooms) and a series of debilitating technical problems, requiring a total of 194 days under repair (compared to 31 days at sea). On 30 April 1941, after 287 days in Polish service, Ouragan was returned to the Free French Forces, who in turn passed her to the Royal Navy in 1943. She never returned to active operations, was decommissioned on 7 April 1949 and scrapped.

References

• uboat.com
• Polish Navy in Scotland
• Polish navy