Le Fier-class torpedo boat

Class overview

Name:	Le Fier class
Builders:	Ateliers et Chantiers de Bretagne, Nantes, Brittany Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire, Nantes, Brittany
Operators:	French Navy (1939–1940) Kriegsmarine (1940–1944)
Preceded by:	La Melpomène class
Succeeded by:	T 47 class
Subclasses:	L'Alsacien class Torpedoboot Ausland 1 class
Built:	1939–1944
Planned:	14
Completed:	0
Cancelled:	7
General characteristics
Type:	torpedo boat
Displacement:	1,010 long tons (1,026 t) standard 1,337 long tons (1,358 t) full load
Length:	95 m (311 ft 8 in) o/a
Beam:	9.4 m (30 ft 10 in)
Draught:	3.25 m (10 ft 8 in)
Propulsion:	2 shafts, 2 Parsons or Rateau-Bretagne steam turbines engines, 3 boilers, 30,800 bhp (23,000 kW)
Speed:	33 knots (38 mph; 61 km/h)
Range:	1,000 nmi (1,900 km; 1,200 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement:	7 officers, 129 sailors
Armament:	4 × 100-millimetre (3.9 in)/45 Modèle 1933 (2 × 2) 4 × 37 mm (1 in)/50 Modèle 1925 (4 × 1) 8 × 13.2 mm (0.52 in)/76 Modèle 1929 Hotchkiss (4 × 2) 4 × 550 mm (22 in) torpedo tubes (2 × 2)

The Le Fier class was a series of sea-going torpedo boats built for the French Navy. Laid down in 1940, the ships were incomplete as of the fall of France and remained unfinished for the rest of World War II.

With rising tensions with Nazi Germany after their remilitarization of the Rhineland in 7 March 1936, the French Third Republic undertook a series of naval construction programmes to maintain military parity in the face of rapid German re-armament. On 31 December 1936, the French Parliament authorized the construction of more warships at the suggestion of admiral François Darlan. These ships were one light cruiser, two destroyers (contre-torpilleur) of the Le Hardi class, four torpedo boats (torpilleur), four submarines of the Aurore class, one mine-laying Émeraude-class submarine, two Bougainville-class avisos, six Elan, four Sans Souci-class small seaplane tenders, one oil tanker, and twelve submarine chasers. Collectively this order was named Tranche 1937.