French destroyer Arbalète
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 A postcard of Arbalète underway | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Arbalète |
| Namesake | Arbalest |
| Ordered | 1900 |
| Builder | Chantiers et Ateliers Augustin Normand, Le Havre |
| Laid down | 1901 |
| Launched | 28 April 1903 |
| Stricken | 21 June 1920 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap, 10 May 1921 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Arquebuse-class destroyer |
| Displacement | 357 t (351 long tons) (deep load) |
| Length | 56.58 m (185 ft 8 in) (o/a) |
| Beam | 6.38 m (20 ft 11 in) |
| Draft | 3.2 m (10 ft 6 in) (deep load) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph) |
| Range | 2,300 nmi (4,300 km; 2,600 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement | 4 officers and 58 enlisted men |
| Armament |
|
Arbalète was a Arquebuse-class destroyer contre-torpilleur d'escadre built for the French Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. Completed in 1903, the ship was initially assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron (Escadre de la Méditerranée).
The Arquebuse class was designed as a faster version of the preceding Durandal class. The ships had an overall length of 56.58 meters (185 ft 8 in),[1] a beam of 6.3 meters (20 ft 8 in), and a maximum draft of 3.2 meters (10 ft 6 in).[2] They normally displaced 307 metric tons (302 long tons) and 357 t (351 long tons) at deep load. The two vertical triple-expansion steam engines each drove one propeller shaft using steam provided by two du Temple Guyot or Normand boilers. The engines were designed to produce a total of 6,300 indicated horsepower (4,700 kW)[1] for a designed speed of 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph),[3] all the ships exceeded their contracted speed during their sea trials. Arbalète proved to be the fastest ship of her class, reaching 31.4 knots (58.2 km/h; 36.1 mph) from 7,136 ihp (5,321 kW) during her sea trials.[1] They carried enough coal to give them a range of 2,300 nautical miles (4,300 km; 2,600 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[2] Their crew consisted of four officers and fifty-eight enlisted men.[1]
The main armament of the Arquebuse-class ships consisted of a single 65-millimeter (2.6 in) gun forward of the bridge and six 47-millimeter (1.9 in) Hotchkiss guns in single mounts, three on each broadside. They were fitted with two single rotating mounts for 381-millimeter (15 in) torpedo tubes on the centerline, one between the funnels and the other on the stern.[1]