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	Sister ship Bouclier underway
History
France
Name	Dehorter
Namesake	Pierre Charles Dehorter
Builder	Ateliers et Chantiers de Penhoët, Saint-Nazaire
Laid down	1910
Launched	18 April 1912
Completed	1913
Stricken	1933
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type	Bouclier-class destroyer
Displacement	720–756 t (709–744 long tons)
Length	72.3–78.3 m (237 ft 2 in – 256 ft 11 in) (o/a)
Beam	7.6–8 m (24 ft 11 in – 26 ft 3 in)
Draft	2.9–3.3 m (9 ft 6 in – 10 ft 10 in)
Installed power	4 water-tube boilers; 13,000 shp (9,694 kW);
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 steam turbines
Speed	30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range	1,200–1,600 nmi (2,200–3,000 km; 1,400–1,800 mi) at 12–14 knots (22–26 km/h; 14–16 mph)
Complement	80–83
Armament	2 × 100 mm (3.9 in) Mle 1893 guns; 4 × 65 mm (2.6 in) Mle 1902 guns; 2 × twin 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes;

Dehorter was one of a dozen Bouclier-class destroyers built for the French Navy in the first decade of the 20th century.

Design and description

The Bouclier class were designed to a general specification and varied significantly from each other in various ways.^[1] The ships had an overall length of 74–78.3 meters (242 ft 9 in – 256 ft 11 in), a beam of 7.6–8 meters (24 ft 11 in – 26 ft 3 in), and a draft of 2.9–3.1 meters (9 ft 6 in – 10 ft 2 in). Designed to displace 800 metric tons (787 long tons), they displaced 720–756 t (709–744 long tons) at normal load. Their crew numbered 80–83 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 13,000 shaft horsepower (9,700 kW) which was intended to give the ships a speed of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph). Dehorter only reached 29.3 knots (54.3 km/h; 33.7 mph) during her sea trials. The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 1,200–1,600 nautical miles (2,200–3,000 km; 1,400–1,800 mi) at cruising speeds of 12–14 knots (22–26 km/h; 14–16 mph).^[2]

The primary armament of the Bouclier-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.^[1]

During World War I, a 45-millimeter (1.8 in) or 75-millimeter (3 in) anti-aircraft gun, two 8-millimeter (0.31 in) machine guns, and eight or ten Guiraud-type depth charges were added to the ships. The extra weight severely overloaded the ships and reduced their operational speed to around 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph).^[1]

Construction and career

Dehorter was ordered from Ateliers et Chantiers de Penhoët and was launched from its Saint-Nazaire shipyard on 18 April 1912. The ship was completed the following year.^[3] When the First World War began in August 1914, Dehorter was the flagship (chef de division) for the Group of Submarines and Destroyers (Flottille de sous-marins et torpilleurs) of the 1st Naval Army (1^ère Armée Navale).^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Smigielski, p. 203
^ Couhat, pp. 101, 104
^ Couhat, p. 104
^ Prévoteaux, Tome I, p. 30

Bibliography

Couhat, Jean Labayle (1974). French Warships of World War I. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0445-5.
Freivogel, Zvonimir (2019). The Great War in the Adriatic Sea 1914–1918. Zagreb: Despot Infinitus. ISBN 978-953-8218-40-8.
Jordan, John & Caresse, Philippe (2019). French Armoured Cruisers 1887–1932. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5267-4118-9.
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.