The Fastest Warship Of WW2 Also Had A Pretty Iconic Name

When most people think about a warship today, they likely picture the biggest and most advanced ones like the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier. Looking back at history, the Axis and Allied powers fielded some impressive military machines to sail the seas, and while size was important, speed was paramount. The prevalence of German U-boats regularly harassing vessels in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico meant that speed made survival more likely than a few hundred extra tons of seawater displacement.

Throughout the conflict, nations built big, but also speedy, ships. The United States Navy fielded four large Iowa-class battleships, which were designed for speed as well as power. While they were quick on the water, there were faster warships, and the ones that left all else in its literal wake were Le Fatasque-class destroyers operated by the French. Because Germany conquered France so quickly on the land, little attention has been given to French naval assets, which weren't innocuous. Le Fatasque-class destroyers were built for speed, and the name translates into "The Whimsical." The fastest of the Le Fatasque-class destroyers was Le Terrible (The Terrible), which is certainly an iconic name for a warship.

France built seven Le Fantasque-class ships before the war, of which two were lost and the remaining were ultimately retired. While they weren't the most legendary ships of WWII, La Fantasque-class destroyers could reach a top speed of 52 mph, which is ridiculously fast when you compare it to its contemporaries like the USS Maury, a Gridley-class destroyer used during the conflict, which had a top speed of 49.25 mph. A modern comparison still slightly favors the French destroyers, seeing as the USS Independence, which is one of the fastest vessels in the U.S. Navy, has a top speed of 51 mph.

Le Fatasque-class destroyers weren't designed to speed across the water as fast as they could go. Initially, the design was planned for a top speed of 42.6 mph, and that's how fast they typically operated. Before the war, these vessels proved they could go faster, with the speediest being Le Terrible and it was terribly fast. During Le Terrible's sea trials, it managed to reach 51.9 mph. Other ships, like frigates, could also move quickly, but destroyers put them to shame during WWII.

Le Terrible was joined by L'Audacieux (The Audacious) and L'Indomptable (The Indomitable), both of which were lost in combat. The remaining Le Fatasque-class French destroyers were Le Malin (The Evil One), Le Triomphant (The Triumphant), and the first in her class, Le Fantasque (The Whimsical). The destroyers displaced up to 3,417 tons of seawater and measured over 343 feet. In typical operation, they could move at more than 46 mph without stressing the engines.

The ships were crewed by 210 enlisted sailors and ten officers. For armaments, Le Fatasque-class destroyers had five 5.5-inch guns, four 37mm anti-aircraft (AA) guns, four 13mm AA guns, and nine 21.7-inch torpedo tubes. Her engines cranked out 74,000 shaft horsepower and ran on diesel. While two were sunk, the remaining vessels mostly survived the war and continued to serve for several years. Le Terrible was one of the last to be scrapped in 1962, nearly 30 years after she was completed.