The ''Durandal'' class was a group of four
destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
s built for the
French Navy
The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
between 1896 and 1900, used during the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. These vessels were France's first true destroyers rather than
torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of se ...
s. Two units were launched in 1899 while another two followed in 1900. Another four destroyers of the similar ''Samsun'' class were laid down in 1906 and completed in 1907 for the
Ottoman Navy, they also served in the First World War.
These vessels, which were an enlarged derivative of the previous s,
[Campbell, p. 323] resembled the of Great Britain.
[Osborne, p. 39] Its hull had a turtleback bow to reduce water resistance,
[Osborne, p. 186] with two masts and two funnels. The ships were powered by two triple expansion engines fed by water tube boilers, giving a speed of , and were armed by two
torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes.
There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s (with two reload torpedoes carried on board
), a
and six
guns.
[Campbell, p. 326]
The ''Durandal'' destroyers were laid down between 1896 and 1897 and completed between 1899 and 1900.
''Espingole'' struck a rock in the Bay of
Cavalaire-sur-Mer
Cavalaire-sur-Mer (, literally ''Cavalaire on Sea''; oc, Cavalaira de Mar, label= Provençal or simply ''Cavalaira'') is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, southeastern France.
History
Cavalaire-sur-Mer is ...
off the South of France on 4 February 1903, which caused the ship to sink. The three remaining destroyers served through the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, operating in both the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
and the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
. They were sold for scrap in 1921.
[Roberts, p. 375]
''Durandal'' class
All four were built by Normand at
Le Havre
Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...
. The first pair (''Durandal'' and ''Hallebarde'') were ordered on 5 and 25 August 1896 respectively. They had a turtledeck forecastle and a flying deck aft, with two masts and two funnels widely separated by their machinery. The second pair (''Fauconneau'' and ''Espignole'') were ordered on 14 April 1897, and differed from the first pair by having a strengthened hull and a slightly raised bow.
* – launched 11 February 1899, stricken 7 April 1919.
* – launched 8 June 1899, stricken 4 March 1920.
* – launched 2 April 1900, stricken 15 January 1921.
* – launched 28 June 1900, ran aground and lost 4 February 1903.
''Samsun'' class
The ''Samsun''-class destroyers had similar dimensions to the ''Durandal'' class, but had more powerful machinery, more powerful armament, higher top speed and shorter range. Three of the four (''Samsun'', ''Yarhisar'' and ''Basra'') were built by C A de la Gironde at
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
, while ''Tasoz'' was built by Schneider at
Nantes
Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...
. These ships suffered from mechanical problems due to poor maintenance and played little part in World War I. It was estimated that none could exceed in 1915. The ''Yarhisar'' was sunk in 1915 and the three surviving ships were scrapped in 1949. ''Yarhisar'' was under the command of Lt. Cdr. Ahmet Hulusi and sank in the
gulf of Izmit
A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodies ...
near
Yalova
Yalova is a market-gardening town located in northwestern Turkey on the eastern coast of the Sea of Marmara. The town has a population of 156,838, while the population of the surrounding Yalova Province is 291,001 . A largely modern town, it is ...
on 3 December 1915 by the British submarine under the command of Lt. Cdr.
Martin Dunbar-Nasmith
Admiral Sir Martin Eric Dunbar-Nasmith, (1 April 1883 – 29 June 1965) was a Royal Navy officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth force ...
. The torpedo struck the engine room and the ship was torn in two. Forty-two of her crew (36 Turks and 6 Germans) died.
* – laid up in 1918, repaired and recommissioned in 1924–1925, decommissioned in 1932, BU in 1949.
* – sunk 3 December 1915, by the British submarine HMS E11.
* – laid up in 1918, repaired and recommissioned in 1924–1925, decommissioned in 1932, BU in 1949.
* – laid up in 1918, repaired and recommissioned in 1924–1925, decommissioned in 1932, BU in 1949.
References
Bibliography
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{{WWI French ships
Destroyer classes
Destroyers of the French Navy
World War I destroyers of France
Ship classes of the French Navy