French destroyer Kabyle

	Kabyle (2nd from right) and three sister ships in Gdynia, Poland, in 1931
History
France
Name	Kabyle
Namesake	Kabyle people
Ordered	1916
Builder	Sasebo Naval Arsenal, Sasebo, Japan
Laid down	1917
Launched	7 June 1917
Completed	1917
In service	25 July 1917
Stricken	14 June 1936
Fate	Scrapped after 1936
General characteristics
Class and type	Arabe-class destroyer
Displacement	685 t (674 long tons)
Length	82.26 m (269 ft 11 in) (o/a); 79.4 m (260 ft 6 in) (p/p);
Beam	7.33 m (24 ft 1 in)
Draft	2.39 m (7 ft 10 in)
Installed power	4 Kampon water-tube boilers; 10,000 PS (7,400 kW; 9,900 shp);
Propulsion	3 shafts; 3 triple-expansion steam engines
Speed	29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph)
Range	2,000 nmi (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement	109
Armament	1 × single 120 mm (4.7 in) gun; 4 × single 76 mm (3 in) guns; 2 × twin 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes;

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).^[1] The ships displaced 865 metric tons (851 long tons) at normal load.^[2] 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).^[3] 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).^[4] Their crew consisted of 5 officers and 104 crewmen.^[5]

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.^[6]

Construction and career

Kabyle was ordered from Sasebo Naval Arsenal^[4] 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.^[7]

Citations

^ Garier, p. 33
^ Smigielski, p. 205
^ Garier, pp. 34, 36
^ ^a ^b Couhat, p. 118
^ Garier, p. 37
^ Garier, pp. 36–37
^ Garier, p. 34

References

Couhat, Jean Labayle (1974). French Warships of World War I. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0445-5.
Garier, Gérard (March 2001). "Les torpilleurs d'escadre français de construction japonaise: Le type 'Algérien' (1917 / 1936)". Navires & Historie. 06. Lela Presse: 33–51. ISSN 1280-4290.
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 0-85177-245-5.