French destroyer Durandal

Durandal was the name ship of her class of four destroyers built for the French Navy in the late 1890s.

Design and description

The Durandal class was the first class of destroyers built for the French Navy, and formed part of the 300-tonne type of destroyers, of which 55 ships of similar size and layout were built between 1897 and 1908. They were designed by the French specialist builder of torpedo vessels, Chantiers et Ateliers A. Normand, based on their design, but enlarged and with a stronger hull.
The Durandals were long overall and between perpendiculars, with a beam of and a draft of. Displacement was. Like all the 300 tonne destroyers, Durandal had a "turtleback" forecastle and a raised flying-deck aft. Two coal-fired Normand water-tube boilers fed steam to two triple-expansion steam engines rated at, giving a design speed of. Two widely separated funnels were fitted. The ships had an operating radius of at and at.
Durandal had a gun armament of a single Canon de 65 mm Modèle 1891 gun on a raised platform around the ship's conning tower, and six [QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss|]/40 M1885 guns on the ship's beams. Two torpedo tubes were fitted, with two spare torpedoes carried. She had a crew of four officers and 48 other ranks.

Construction and service

Durandal was ordered from Chantiers et Ateliers Augustin Normand on 5 August 1896 and was laid down on 25 August at its shipyard in Le Havre. The ship was launched on 11 February 1899 and conducted her sea trials in April–July. She was commissioned upon their conclusion and assigned to the Northern Squadron. She reached a speed of during sea trials on 4 July 1899.
In July 1902, Durandal took part in the 1902 French naval manoeuvres in the Mediterranean.
When the First World War began in August 1914, Durandal was one of the leaders in the 2nd Submarine Flotilla of the 2nd Light Squadron based at Cherbourg. On 12 October, Durandal, the destroyer and the auxiliary cruiser Pas de Calais, engaged the German submarine off Cap Gris-Nez.