French destroyer Fauconneau
# French destroyer Fauconneau

Fauconneau was one of four Durandal-class destroyers built for the French Navy in the late 1890s.

## Design and description

The Durandals had an overall length of 57.64 meters (189 ft 1 in), a beam of 6.3 meters (20 ft 8 in), and a maximum draft of 3.2 meters (10 ft 6 in). They displaced 311 metric tons (306 long tons) at deep load. The two triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one propeller shaft, were designed to produce a total of 5,200 metric horsepower (3,825 kW), using steam provided by two Normand boilers. The ships had a designed speed of 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph), but Fauconneau reached 27.14 knots (50.26 km/h; 31.23 mph) during her sea trials. The ships 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). Their original complement consisted of four officers and sixty enlisted men, but the number of enlisted men increased to 60 in 1899.

The Durandal-class ships were armed with a single 65-millimeter (2.6 in) gun forward of the bridge and six 47-millimeter (1.9 in) Hotchkiss guns, three on each broadside. They were fitted with two single 381-millimeter (15 in) torpedo tubes, one between the funnels and the other on the stern. Two reload torpedoes were also carried; their air flasks, however, had to be charged before they could be used, a process that took several hours. The Modèle 1887 torpedo that they used had a warhead weight of 42 kilograms (93 lb).

## Construction and career

Fauconneau was ordered from Chantiers et Ateliers Augustin Normand on 14 April 1897 and was laid down on 29 April at its shipyard in Le Havre. The ship was launched on 2 April 1900 and conducted her sea trials in May–July. She was commissioned upon their conclusion and assigned to the Northern Squadron.

When the First World War began in August 1914, Fauconneau was one of the leaders (divisionnaire) in the 1st Submarine Flotilla $(1^{ère}$ escadrille sous-marins) of the 2nd Light Squadron $(2^e$ escadre légère) based at Cherbourg.

