Here is (one of my) my current project: French WW1 destroyer Mangini.
L: 83m (oa)
l: 8.063m (oa)
Depl: 850t
Guns: 2x100mm & 4x65mm
Torp: 4x450mm
HP: 14,000
Max speed: 30.93kn
Launched: 31 March 1913
Enrered service: 8 August 1914
After the success of it's 300t series (55 ships built: Durandal 1899, last one entering service in 1910), the French navy was long to receive larger destroyer and the gap kept increasing with Bristish navy till WW1
In 1909/1912 the 450t serie entered service (13 units, some of them introducing the turbine for the 1st time in a french Destroyer). Kind of enlarged "300t", these were still much smaller than Royal Navy destroyers.
The first units of the new 800t serie entered service just before WW1, the last of the 21 buit was only completed after the war as the priority was given to ground army industries. They all were powered by turbines and burning oil.
Five of them were lost during the war (by collision: Faulx, mine: Dague & Boutefeu, and sub torpedoe: Renaudin&Fourche). Thet were hampered by their small size and sometimes proved fragile.
Mangini mainly served in the mediterranean, including under Italian command as some other French and British ships after this country entered war in 1915. On Aug 10th 1918, during a night escort of Italian battleships she encountered stearing troubles and collided with la Faux, sinking her.
Like her surviving sisterships whe was removed from the list before mid-1938.
- Mangini, probaly seen juste before completition
- The hull cut in wood: started two of them (red arrow) in order to try different way of buiding the forecastle
