French destroyer Branlebas

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Branlebas.

Branlebas was the name ship of her class of destroyers built for the French Navy in the first decade of the 20th century.

Branlebas in harbor
History
France
Name	Branlebas
Namesake	Action stations
Builder	Chantiers et Ateliers Augustin Normand, Le Havre
Laid down	November 1905
Launched	8 October 1907
Fate	Sunk 30 September 1915
General characteristics
Class and type	Branlebas-class destroyer
Displacement	350 t (344 long tons)
Length	58 m (190 ft 3 in) (p/p)
Beam	6.28 m (20 ft 7 in)
Draft	2.96 m (9 ft 9 in)
Installed power	6,800 ihp (5,071 kW) 2 Normand or Du Temple boilers
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 Triple-expansion steam engines
Speed	27.5 knots (50.9 km/h; 31.6 mph)
Range	2,100 nmi (3,900 km; 2,400 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement	60
Armament	1 × 65 mm (2.6 in) gun 6 × 47 mm (1.9 in) Hotchkiss guns 2 × 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes
Armor	Waterline belt: 20 mm (0.8 in)

During World War I, Branlebas struck a mine and sank in the North Sea between Dunkirk, France, and Nieuwpoort, Belgium, on 30 September 1915.^[1]

Design

The Branlebas-class was a development of the previous Claymore class, and was the final evolution of the 300-tonne type which the French had built since 1899, with their first destroyer class, the Durandal-class. Like all the 300-tonne destroyers, the Branlebas class had a turtledeck forecastle with a flying deck, raised above the hull, aft.^[2]

They were 58 metres (190 ft 3 in) long between perpendiculars and 59.06 m (193 ft 9 in) overall,^[3][4] with a beam of 6.28 metres (20 ft 7 in) and a maximum draught of 2.37 metres (7 ft 9 in). Displacement was 350 tonnes (344 long tons). Two coal-fired Normand or Du Temple boilers fed steam to two triple-expansion steam engines, rated at 6,800 indicated horsepower (5,100 kW), and driving two propeller shafts, giving a design speed of 27.5 knots (50.9 km/h; 31.6 mph). The ships had a range of 2,100 nautical miles (3,900 km; 2,400 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).^[3]

A 20 millimetres (0.79 in) belt of armour was fitted to protect the ship's boilers and machinery from splinters.^[2][5] The class was built with the standard gun armament for the 300-tonne destroyers, with a single 65 mm (2.6 in) forward, backed up by six 47 mm (1.9 in) guns, while two 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes were carried.^[2] The ships had a complement of 4 officers and 56 men.^[3]

Construction and service

Branlebas was laid down at the Le Havre shipyard of Chantiers et Ateliers A. Normand in November 1905 and was launched on 8 October 1910. She reached a speed of 28.76 kn (33.10 mph; 53.26 km/h) during sea trials.^[5]

When the First World War began in August 1914, Branlebas was assigned to the 1st Destroyer Flotilla (1^re escadrille de torpilleurs) of the 2nd Light Squadron (2^e escadre légère)^[6] based at Cherbourg.

References

1. "French Navy". Naval History. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
2. Campbell 1979, pp. 326–327
3. Couhat 1974, p. 92
4. Hythe 1912, p. 254
5. Couhat 1974, p. 94
6. Prévoteaux, Tome I, p. 34

Bibliography

• Campbell, N. J. M. (1979). "France". In Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M. (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 283–333. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.
• Couhat, Jean Labayle (1974). French Warships of World War I. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0445-5.
• Karau, Mark D. (2014). The Naval Flank of the Westorn Front: The German MarineKorps Flandern 1914–1918. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-231-8.
• Monograph No. 28: Home Waters Part III.: From November 1914 to the end of January 1915 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. XII. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1925.
• Prévoteaux, Gérard (2017). La marine française dans la Grande guerre: les combattants oubliés: Tome I 1914–1915 [The French Navy during the Great War: The Forgotten Combatants, Book I 1914–1915]. Collection Navires & Histoire des Marines du Mond. Vol. 23. Le Vigen, France: Éditions Lela presse. ISBN 978-2-37468-000-2.
• Prévoteaux, Gérard (2017). La marine française dans la Grande guerre: les combattants oubliés: Tome II 1916–1918 [The French Navy during the Great War: The Forgotten Combatants, Book II 1916–1918]. Collection Navires & Histoire des Marines du Mond. Vol. 27. Le Vigen, France: Éditions Lela presse. ISBN 978-2-37468-001-9.
• Roberts, Stephen S. (2021). French Warships in the Age of Steam 1859–1914: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5267-4533-0.
• Viscount Hythe, ed. (1912). The Naval Annual 1912. Portsmouth: J Griffin and Co.