French destroyer Espingole

The ship was laid down in 1896–1897^[3] by Chantiers et Ateliers Augustin Normand at their Le Havre shipyard,^[2] as the last of the four Durandal-class destroyers.^[3] She was named after a French type of blunderbuss;^[4] all of the ships in her class were named after weapons.^[3] Espingole was launched on 28 June 1900 and completed around September when she ran her speed trials. Construction costs were 1,690,994 francs. She was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet in December and made a number of port visits in France, Corsica and French North Africa throughout 1901. Her rudder was damaged after striking the bottom off Golfe-Juan and Espingole was under repair 3–27 September.^[1]

In October 1901, the 1st Battleship Division, under the command of Rear Admiral (contre-amiral) Leonce Caillard, consisting of the battleships Gaulois and Charlemagne, the armored cruiser Pothuau, and escorted by Espingole and the destroyer Epée, was ordered to proceed to the port of Mytilene on the island of Lesbos, then part by the Ottoman Empire. After Caillard landed two companies of marines that occupied the major ports of the island on 7 November, Sultan Abdul Hamid II agreed to enforce contracts made with French companies and to repay loans made by French banks. The ships made a number of port visits while they were in the Aegean, including the islands of Milos, Syros, and Tinos, in addition to the ports of Smyrna and Piraeus. The 1st Division returned to Toulon on 12 December. The ship was refitted from 3 to 17 April 1902 before she resumed her normal routine of port visits. Lieutenant (Lieutenant de vaisseau (LV)) Marcotte de Sainte-Marie relieved LV Langier in June and Espingole was refitted again from 13 November to 2 December. She made a port visit in early 1903 at Rochefort before resuming training.^[5]

The ship struck a rock in Cavalaire Bay, off Cavalaire-sur-Mer, on 4 February 1903 after straying outside the channel, and ripped a hole 2.5–3-meter (8 ft 2 in – 9 ft 10 in) in the bottom of the hull. Coal, ammunition, and two 47 mm guns were thrown overboard to lighten the ship and her sister ship Hallebarde attempted to pull her off. The hawser broke after only moving Espingole roughly 5–6 meters (16 ft 5 in – 19 ft 8 in), injuring two of Hallebarde's crewmen. Hallebarde then rescued Espingole's 62-man crew before the ship sank at coordinates 43°09′20″N 06°36′30″E / 43.15556°N 6.60833°E / 43.15556; 6.60833. LV Marcotte de Sainte-Marie was finally acquitted at his court-martial seven years after his ship ran aground.^[6]

The initial salvage attempts were unsuccessful and the Espingole was struck off the naval register on 16 September. The navy sold her wreck at auction in December 1909 and decided to offer an escalating series of bonuses if the winner could refloat the ship and deliver it intact. The salvage company was no more successful and abandoned the effort after five months of work. The company claimed that the navy had disturbed the wreck and sued for 60,000 francs plus damages. The dispute was not settled until 3 March 1926.^[7]

• 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.
• Caresse, Philippe (2013). "The Unlucky Destroyer Espignole". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2013. London: Conway. ISBN 978-1-84486-205-4.
• 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.