Bourrasque
Contents
Description
The Bourrasque-class, Bourrasque, 1939 is a rank I French destroyer with a battle rating of 3.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "La Royale".
General info
Survivability and armour
The Bourrasque, like most other reserve vessels, features minimal armour, instead relying on its mobility and small size to avoid being hit. The only armour that can be found on the ship are the gun shields, reaching 10 mm thick. The ship is quite compact, meaning most shots that hit the vessel will damage or destroy a component, and the small number of crew means that prolonged combat will eventually lead to its destruction.
Mobility
The speed of the Bourrasque is below average compared to its contemporaries, putting the captain of this vessel at a disadvantage, whether that be attempting to capture zones or get to advantageous positions. On the other hand, the large rudder and low displacement of the Bourrasque grant it an extremely small turning circle, even compared to other ships of the tier. This allows the captain to easily 'wiggle' to avoid incoming fire, turn to avoid torpedo strikes, and allows the captain to change directions quickly.
| Mobility Characteristics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Game Mode | Upgrade Status | Maximum Speed (km/h) | |
| Forward | Reverse | ||
| AB | |||
| Upgraded | 75 | 31 | |
| RB/SB | |||
| Upgraded | 61 | 25 | |
Modifications and economy
| Seakeeping | Unsinkability | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armament
Primary armament
The Bourrasque carries a large punch for its small size, mounting 4 x 130 mm guns, that combine an average rate of fire (7.5 rounds a minute) and deadly ammunition, allowing the ship to combat all enemies it can face. Like other French ships, the guns mounted at the front of the ship have decent firing angles, but the guns at the rear have inadequate firing angles, and require the ship to be almost parallel with its opponent to get all four guns on target. Choices of ammunition are excellent for this tier, granting both devastating HE and SAPBC rounds, the former being excellent at destroying external modules, stripping enemy vessels of their crew, and igniting fires on the deck. The SAPBC rounds, on the other hand, feature a fuse which allows the round to penetrate into an enemy vessel and destroy its internal modules. These rounds make it very easy to disable an enemies engines, crippling their mobility and making them a far easier target, allowing the captain of the Bourrasque to target the ammunition storage and swiftly sending their opponent back to the hangar.
Both rounds have a velocity of 725 m/s, making it easy to adjust to the SAPBC once they are unlocked. However, the muzzle velocity of these rounds is quite low compared to other reserve vessels, meaning that at a distance, enemy ships will be able to hit you before you hit them. The 130 mm OEA Mle.32 HE rounds have a lot of explosive mass, having a TNT equivalence of 3.96 kg. The 130 mm OPFA Mle.23 SAPBC rounds lose 2 kg of TNT equivalence, but gains a significant amount of penetration and the inclusion of a fuse.
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 1,000 m | 2,500 m | 5,000 m | 7,500 m | 10,000 m | 15,000 m | ||
| OEA Mle 1932 | HE | 37 | 37 | 37 | 37 | 37 | 37 |
| OPFA Mle 1923 | SAPBC | 61 | 54 | 43 | 34 | 27 | 25 |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (s) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg) |
Ricochet | |||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| OEA Mle 1932 | HE | 725 | 34.83 | 0 | 0.1 | 3.96 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |||
| OPFA Mle 1923 | SAPBC | 725 | 32.05 | 0.035 | 5 | 1.98 | 48° | 63° | 71° | |||
Secondary armament
Like most early French destroyers, the Bourrasque features a minimal load of secondary weapons, amounting to only 2 x 37 mm guns. These 37 mm guns are not automatic, meaning they have a low rate of fire and are ineffective against aircraft, especially due to the lack of a timed fuze or proximity fuze round. These guns also have very little explosive mass and no penetration, making them ineffective against everything except small coastal vessels.
The 37 mm OEA Mle.25 HE rounds have a muzzle velocity of 810 m/s, allowing it to easily hit distant target. However, the explosive mass is only 50 g, meaning they do little damage, and with only 3 mm of penetration, they struggle to damage even deck-mounted weapons.
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | ||
| OEA Mle 1925 | HE | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | |||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| OEA Mle 1925 | HE | 810 | 0.73 | 0 | 0.1 | 50 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |||
Additional armament
The Bourrasque carries a deadly torpedo armament, having 2 x triple tube 550 mm torpedo launchers mounted amidships. This gives the captain access to an extremely dangerous torpedo volley for this tier, combining some very solid torpedoes in terms of both range, speed, and explosive mass. One thing to note about these launchers is, like other French destroyers, they have horrible firing angles, requiring the vessel to show its entire side to an enemy to fire a volley. These volleys do however, guarantee the destruction of any foe encountered within 1 or 2 hits, and allow captains of the Bourrasque to destroy enemy vessels that are outside its effective firing distance.
The 550 mm Modèle 1923 DT torpedoes are extremely deadly, both with and without the Torpedo Mode modification. Without this modification, these torpedoes are lethal at short to medium ranges, having a top speed of 72 km/h and a range of 9 km, allowing it to easily intercept enemy vessels at short range. With the modification enabled, the speed is reduced to 65km/h, but gains 4 km range, allowing it destroy enemies well beyond the effective combat distance of enemy vessels.
Usage in battles
The Bourrasque is best used to support other friendly vessels, as the low top speed and non-existent anti-aircraft battery put it at a significant disadvantage compared to other ships. Supporting your allies is a sure way to easily get kills and assists while usually avoiding incoming fire, while also reducing your chances of being hit by an enemy aircraft. The easiest way to destroy enemy vessels with the Bourrasque is to simply take out the enemies running gear, then swiftly sending them back to the hangar by destroying their ammo racks. If you are finding it hard to hit the magazines, do not fret, as the large rounds this ship fires allows it to quickly dispatch crew from enemy vessels. The lack of protection, small crew, and the compact nature of this ship means that being hit is usually quite fatal, regardless of where the enemy hits. Always try to avoid incoming fire by 'wiggling' and only expose the side of your ship in close quarters battles, where it is most important to get all guns on target. The small turning circle of the ship allows it to easily dodge torpedoes, so long as you are aware of your surroundings.
Enemies worth noting:
Enemy vessels with autocannons, like the 40 mm Pom Pom or Bofors, or even 20 mm guns can easily strip the Bourrasque of crew and disable its internal and external components, so be mindful of these enemies. Guns of these type are usually not carried on ships at this tier, but there are a few exceptions, such as the British HMS Vega and HMS Calpe, the German Type 1934A-class destroyers, and all Soviet destroyers. The easiest way to avoid getting hit by these guns is to sit outside their firing range, at about 4 km, allowing you to fight on equal grounds with these vessels.
As with any bluewater vessel, a single coastal vessel can spell doom for the Bourrasque. Always try to keep a small island or piece of wreckage between you and coastal vessels, so you can easily avoid being torpedoes. Do not rely on your 37mm guns to destroy these, as the lack of damage struggles even against some coastals. Instead, try to keep a bit of distance to allow your 130 mm guns to depress enough to dispatch the enemy boat.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Tight turning circle makes it easy to dodge torpedoes and change direction quickly
- Small size makes it easier to avoid incoming fire
- Deadly torpedo armament
- 130mm guns are extremely effective against any enemy encountered
Cons:
- Rear mounted guns have limited firing angles
- Torpedo launchers have very poor firing angles
- No anti-aircraft armament
- Secondary weapons are inadequate against most targets
- No protection and small crew
- Below average top speed
History
Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ship in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the ship and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Ship-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the ship's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
See also
Links to articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the series of the ship;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
| France destroyers | |
|---|---|
| Bourrasque-class | Bourrasque · Tornade |
| Chacal-class | Chacal · Leopard · Panthere |
| Aigle-class | Aigle · Vautour · Milan |
| Vauquelin-class | Vauquelin |
| Le Fantasque-class | Le Malin · Le Triomphant |
| Mogador-class | Mogador |
| Hunt-class | La Combattante |
| Trophies | Germany |
| Desaix-class¹ | Kleber |
| Type 1936 | Marceau |
| Italy | |
| Chateaurenault-class² | Guichen |
| Modified: ¹Type 1934A-class destroyers · ²Capitani Romani-class cruisers | |
