French destroyer Mécanicien Principal Lestin
The French destroyer Mécanicien Principal Lestin was the second of two Enseigne Roux-class destroyers built for the French Navy during the First World War.
 Sister ship Enseigne Roux at anchor | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Mécanicien Principal Lestin |
| Builder | Arsenal de Rochefort |
| Laid down | 12 November 1913 |
| Launched | 15 May 1915 |
| Completed | 1916 |
| Stricken | 1935 |
| Fate | Scrapped after 1935 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Class and type | Enseigne Roux-class destroyer |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 82.6 m (271 ft 0 in) (o/a) |
| Beam | 8.6 m (28 ft 3 in) |
| Draft | 3 m (9 ft 10 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 2 shafts; 2 steam turbines |
| Speed | 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) |
| Range | 1,400 nmi (2,600 km; 1,600 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
| Complement | 76–81 |
| Armament |
|
Design and description
The Enseigne Roux class was an enlarged version of the preceding Bisson class. The ships had an overall length of 82.6 meters (271 ft 0 in), a beam of 8.6 meters (28 ft 3 in), and a draft of 3 meters (9 ft 10 in). They displaced 850 metric tons (837 long tons) at normal load. Their crew numbered 76–81 men.[1]
The ships were powered by a pair of Parsons steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam provided by four water-tube boilers. The engines were designed to produce 17,000 shaft horsepower (13,000 kW) which was intended to give the ships a speed of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph). During her sea trials, Mécanicien Principal Lestin reached a speed of 31.2 knots (57.8 km/h; 35.9 mph).[2] The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 1,400 nautical miles (2,600 km; 1,600 mi) at cruising speeds of 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph).[1]
The primary armament of the Enseigne Roux-class ships consisted of two 100-millimeter (3.9 in) Modèle 1893 guns in single mounts, one each fore and aft of the superstructure, and four 65-millimeter (2.6 in) Modèle 1902 guns distributed amidships. They were also fitted with two twin mounts for 450-millimeter (17.7 in) torpedo tubes amidships.[2]
Construction and career
Mécanicien Principal Lestin was ordered from the Arsenal de Rochefort and was laid down on 12 November 1913. The ship was launched on 15 May 1915 and completed the following year. She was initially assigned the Mediterraneand Fleet and was transferred to the Dunkirk Flotilla defending the English Channel in 1918.[3]
Citations
- Smigielski, p. 203
- Couhat, p. 115
- Couhat, p. 117
References
- Couhat, Jean Labayle (1974). French Warships of World War I. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0445-5.
- 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.
- Smigielski, Adam (1985). "France". In Gray, Randal (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 190–220. ISBN 0-87021-907-3.