Bouclier-class destroyer

Bouclier, lead ship of the series, circa 1914
Class overview
Name: Bouclier class
Operators:  French Navy
Preceded by: Chasseur class
Succeeded by: Bisson class
Built: 1909–13
In commission: 1911–33
Completed: 12
Lost: 4
Scrapped: 8
General characteristics
Type: Destroyer
Displacement: 732–809 t (720–796 long tons)
Length: 72.3–78.3 m (237 ft 2 in–256 ft 11 in) (o/a)
Beam: 7.6–8 m (24 ft 11 in–26 ft 3 in)
Draft: 2.9–3.3 m (9 ft 6 in–10 ft 10 in)
Installed power:
Propulsion: 2–3 shafts; 2–3 Steam turbines
Speed: 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range: 1,200–1,600 nmi (2,200–3,000 km; 1,400–1,800 mi) at 12–14 knots (22–26 km/h; 14–16 mph)
Complement: 80–83
Armament:
  • 2 × 100 mm (3.9 in) Mle 1893 guns
  • 4 × 65 mm (2.6 in) Mle 1902 guns
  • 2 × twin 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes

The Bouclier class, or Casque class, was a class of twelve destroyers of the French Navy built between 1910 and 1912, four of which were lost during the First World War.

This 800-tonne class were built by various shipyards to a general specification that included oil-fired boilers and steam turbines. This allowed for some variations in size (from 237–256 ft (72–78 m) in length) and machinery (Bouclier and Casque had three shafts, all the others had two, while Casque has three funnels, all the rest had four). Speeds also varied, Bory was the slowest at only 24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph), while Bouclier achieved 35.5 knots (65.7 km/h; 40.9 mph) in trials.[1]

All ships of the class received the standard armament of two 100 mm (3.9 in) 1893 Model guns, four 65 mm (2.6 in) 1902 Model guns and two twin trainable 450 mm (18 in) torpedo tubes. During World War I, a 45 mm (1.8 in) or 75 mm (3.0 in) anti-aircraft gun, two 8 mm (0.31 in) machine guns, and eight or ten Guiraud-type depth charges were added.[1]

All but three (Bouclier, Capitaine Mehl and Francis Garnier) of the ships in the class served in the Mediterranean Sea between 1914 and 1918.[1]

Ships

Name Builder Launched Fate
Bouclier Chantiers et Ateliers Augustin Normand, Le Havre 29 June 1911 Struck, 15 February 1933
Boutefeu Dyle et Bacalan, Bordeaux 2 May 1911 Sunk by mine laid by UC-25 off Brindisi, 15 May 1917, during the Battle of the Strait of Otranto
Capitaine Mehl Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire, St. Nazaire 20 April 1912 Struck, 10 July 1926
Casque Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée, Le Havre 25 August 1910 Struck, 26 March 1926. Broken up, 1927.
Cimeterre Forges et Chantiers de la Gironde, Bordeaux 13 April 1911 Struck, 10 July 1926
Commandant Bory Dyle et Bacalan, Bordeaux 14 September 1912 Struck, 29 July 1926
Commandant Rivière Forges et Chantiers de la Gironde, Bordeaux 2 October 1912 Struck, June 1933
Dague 13 April 1911 Sunk by a drifting mine in Antivari Roads, 24 February 1915
Dehorter Ateliers et Chantier de Saint-Nazaire Penhoët, Saint-Nazaire 18 April 1912 Struck, 1933
Faulx Établissement de la Brosse et Fouché, Nantes2 February 1911 Accidentally rammed and sunk by Mangini in Strait of Otranto, 18 April 1918
Fourche 21 October 1910 Torpedoed and sunk by U-15, 23 June 1916
Francis Garnier Chantiers et Ateliers Augustin Normand, Le Havre 1 October 1912 Struck, 10 February 1926

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 "Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906-1921". books.google.co.uk. Retrieved 1 July 2010.

Bibliography

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