The Desaix was a French destroyer of 1625 tons displacement launched in 1936 as the German vessel Paul Jacobi and acquired by the French navy in 1946. The Desaix was powered by six Wagner oil-fired boilers providing a top speed of 36 knots and carried a complement of 340. She was armed with five 5 inch guns; eight 37 mm anti-aircraft guns; twelve 2...