French destroyer Baliste

Baliste was one of 20 Arquebuse-class destroyers built for the French Navy in the first decade of the 20th century.

Baliste underway in harbor
History
France
Name: Baliste
Namesake: Ballista
Ordered: 1901
Builder: Ateliers et Chantiers de Penhoët, Saint-Nazaire
Laid down: 1901
Launched: 22 October 1903
Struck: 30 October 1919
General characteristics
Class and type: Arquebuse-class destroyer
Displacement: 323 t (318 long tons)
Length: 58.26 m (191 ft 2 in) (o/a)
Beam: 6.38 m (20 ft 11 in)
Draft: 3.2 m (10 ft 6 in)
Installed power:
  • 6,300 ihp (4,698 kW)
  • 2 Normand or Du Temple boilers
Propulsion: 2 shafts; 2 Triple-expansion steam engines
Speed: 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph)
Range: 2,300 nmi (4,300 km; 2,600 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement: 60
Armament:

Construction and design

Ten Arequebuse-class destroyers, including Baliste were ordered for the French Navy as part of the 1901 construction programme, joining 10 ordered under the previous years programme.[1] The Arquebuste-class were one of six classes of 300-tonne destroyers built between 1896 and 1908, with 55 destroyers of similar design built in total.[2][3] They differed from the previous classes in having higher boiler pressures, giving increased speeds.[1]

Baliste was 58.26 metres (191 ft 2 in) long overall and 56.30 metres (184 ft 9 in) at the waterline, with a beam of 6.38 metres (20 ft 11 in) and a draught of 3.20 metres (10 ft 6 in). Displacement was 320 tonnes (310 long tons). Two water-tube boilers fed steam to two triple expansion engines rated at 6,300 indicated horsepower (4,700 kW), giving a design speed of 28 knots (32 mph; 52 km/h).[4]

Armament consisted of one 65 mm gun before the bridge and six 47 mm mounted on the ship's beams, three to a side. Two 381 mm (15 inch torpedo tubes were fitted, with two spare torpedoes carried.[1][5] Baliste was one of four 300 tonne destroyers fitted for minelaying between 1909 and 1912, while in 1915, two of the 47 mm guns were modified to give anti-aircraft fire.[6] The ship had a crew of 4 officers and 56 other ranks.[4]

Baliste was laid down in 1901 at the Ateliers et Chantiers de Saint-Nazaire Penhoët shipyard in Rouen and launched on 22 October 1903. She reached a speed of 29.90 knots (34.41 mph; 55.37 km/h) during Sea trials between December 1903 and June 1904.[7]

Service

In October 1914, Baliste was employed on patrols off the western end of the English Channel.[8] Later in the war she was based at Bizerte and then Salonika. She was stricken and sold for scrap on 30 October 1919.[9]

References
  1. Chesneau & Kolesnik 1979, p. 326
  2. Chesneau & Kolesnik 1979, pp. 326–327
  3. Couhat 1974, pp. 81–82
  4. Couhat 1974, p. 86
  5. Couhat 1974, p. 82
  6. Chesneau & Kolesnik 1979, p. 323
  7. Couhat 1974, p. 87
  8. Naval Staff Monograph No. 24 1924, p. 117
  9. Couhat 1974, p. 89

Bibliography
  • Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M. (1979). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Couhat, Jean Labayle (1974). French Warships of World War I. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0445-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal (1985). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Monograph No. 24: Home Waters: Part II.: September and October 1914 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). XI. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1924.

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