The French destroyer Aigle was the lead vessel of her class, constructed during the 1930s for the French Navy. She measured 128.5 meters (421 ft 7 in) in length, with a beam of 11.8 meters (38 ft 9 in) and a draft of 4.97 meters (16 ft 4 in). Displacing 2,441 long tons (2,480 tonnes) at standard load and up to 3,140 tonnes (3,090 long tons) at deep load, she was powered by two geared steam turbines fueled by four du Temple boilers. These turbines were designed to produce 64,000 metric horsepower (47,000 kW), enabling her to reach a top speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph). During her sea trials on 18 May 1932, Aigle exceeded expectations, achieving 38.6 knots (71.5 km/h; 44.4 mph) powered by turbines producing 76,906 PS (56,564 kW). She carried enough fuel oil for a range of 3,650 nautical miles (6,760 km; 4,200 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph). Her crew consisted of 10 officers and 198 enlisted men in peacetime, increasing to 217 during wartime. Armament comprised five 138.6 mm (5.5 in) Modèle 1927 guns in single mounts—two superfiring pairs fore and aft of the superstructure and one abaft the aft funnel. Her anti-aircraft defenses included four 37 mm (1.5 in) guns, and she was equipped with two triple 550 mm (21.7 in) torpedo tubes, positioned between the funnels and aft of the rear funnel. For anti-submarine warfare, Aigle was fitted with two stern depth charge chutes holding sixteen 200 kg (440 lb) depth charges and four depth-charge throwers with an additional twelve 100 kg (220 lb) charges. Throughout World War II, Aigle played a notable role in escort and transport operations, including safeguarding Force 'Z' ships in November 1939 and escorting troop convoys from North Africa to Marseille. Her last combat action was a raid on Genoa during Operation Vado in June 1940, where she defended against Italian torpedo boats. After France's surrender in June 1940, she served with Vichy France’s navy. She was scuttled at Toulon on 27 November 1942 to prevent capture, later refloated, then sunk again by US Army Air Forces bombers in November 1943. Her wreck was eventually salvaged and scrapped, marking her as a significant vessel in French naval history during the interwar period and WWII.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.