France and Italy approached the same high-speed surface-combat problem from opposite directions: France built very large destroyers while Italy favored very small cruisers. Le Fantasque-class ships displaced about 2,569 tons standard and roughly 3,400 tons at deep load, close to the cruiser boundary. Their five 5.5-inch guns and nine torpedoes in three triple mountings gave them a strong surface-action fit. Their stability allowed them to work the guns, although the rate of fire remained modest. Official top speed was 37 knots, with about 45 knots achieved by some ships on trials and nearly matched by others in wartime operations. Light anti-aircraft weapons included 37 mm guns and twin 13.2 mm machine guns, and wartime complement reached 265.
Notable Point · 19:31-22:01
Le Fantasque and the cruiser-destroyer boundary
The Le Fantasque class pushed the French large-destroyer idea close to the cruiser boundary with very high speed, five 5.5-inch guns, and nine torpedoes.