French destroyer Chevalier Paul (1932)

Chevalier Paul moored to a buoy, about 1934
History
France
Name	Chevalier Paul
Namesake	Chevalier Paul
Ordered	1 February 1930
Builder	Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée, La Seyne-sur-Mer
Cost	56,500,000 Francs
Laid down	28 February 1931
Launched	21 March 1932
Completed	20 July 1934
In service	24 August 1934
Fate	Sunk by aircraft, 16 June 1941
General characteristics
Class and type	Vauquelin-class destroyer
Displacement	2,441 t (2,402 long tons) (standard) 3,120 t (3,070 long tons) (deep load)
Length	129.3 m (424 ft 3 in)
Beam	11.8 m (38 ft 9 in)
Draft	4.97 m (16 ft 4 in)
Installed power	4 du Temple boilers 64,000 PS (47,000 kW; 63,000 shp)
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 geared steam turbines
Speed	36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph)
Range	3,000 nmi (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Crew	12 officers, 224 crewmen (wartime)
Armament	5 × single 138.6 mm (5.5 in) guns 4 × single 37 mm (1.5 in) anti-aircraft guns 2 × twin 13.2 mm (0.52 in) anti-aircraft machineguns 1 × triple, 2 × twin 550 mm (21.7 in) torpedo tubes 2 chutes and 2 throwers for 36 depth charges 40 mines

Chevalier Paul was one of six Vauquelin-class large destroyers (contre-torpilleurs) built for the French Navy (Marine Nationale) during the 1930s. The ship entered service in 1934 and spent most of her career in the Mediterranean. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939, she was one of the ships that helped to enforce the non-intervention agreement. When France declared war on Germany in September 1939, all of the Vauquelins were assigned to the High Sea Forces (Forces de haute mer (FHM)) which was tasked to escort French convoys and support the other commands as needed. Chevalier Paul was briefly deployed to Scotland in early 1940 to support the Allied forces in the Norwegian Campaign, but returned to the Mediterranean in time to participate in Operation Vado, a bombardment of Italian coastal facilities after Italy entered the war in June.

The ship was assigned to the Vichy French FHM when it was reformed after the Armistice of 22 June 1940. She attempted to ferry ammunition to French Lebanon after it was invaded by the Allied forces in June 1941, but was sunk off the coast of French Syria by British aircraft with almost all of her crew surviving.