French destroyer Kabyle
# French destroyer Kabyle

The French destroyer Kabyle was one of a dozen Arabe-class destroyers built for the French Navy in Japan during the First World War.

## Design and description

The Arabe-class ships had an overall length of 82.26 meters (269 ft 11 in), a length between perpendiculars of 79.4 meters (260 ft 6 in) a beam of 7.33 meters (24 ft 1 in), and a draft of 2.39 meters (7 ft 10 in). The ships displaced 865 metric tons (851 long tons) at normal load. They were powered by three vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by four mixed-firing Kampon Yarrow-type boilers. The engines were designed to produce 10,000 metric horsepower (7,400 kW; 9,900 shp), which would propel the ships at 29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph). During their sea trials, the Arabe class reached 29.16–30.44 knots (54.00–56.37 km/h; 33.56–35.03 mph). The ships carried enough coal and fuel oil which gave them a range of 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). Their crew consisted of 5 officers and 104 crewmen.

The main armament of the Arabe-class ships was a single Type 41 12-centimeter (4.7 in) gun, mounted before the bridge on the forecastle. Their secondary armament consisted of four Type 41 76-millimeter (3 in) guns in single mounts; two of these were positioned abreast the middle funnel and the others were on the centerline further aft. One of these latter guns was on a high-angle mount and served as an anti-aircraft gun. The ships carried two above-water twin mounts for 450-millimeter (17.7 in) torpedo tubes. In 1917–18, a rack for eight 75-kilogram (165 lb) depth charges was added.

## Construction and career

Kabyle was ordered from Sasebo Naval Arsenal and was launched on 7 June 1917 and completed on 25 July. She was stricken on 14 June 1936 and subsequently broken up for scrap.

## Citations

* ↑ Garier, p. 33
* ↑ Smigielski, p. 205
* ↑ Garier, pp. 34, 36
* 1 2 Couhat, p. 118
* ↑ Garier, p. 37
* ↑ Garier, pp. 36–37
* ↑ Garier, p. 34
