French destroyer Enseigne Henry
 Postcard of Enseigne Henry
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Enseigne Henry |
| Builder | Arsenal de Rochefort |
| Launched | 12 May 1911 |
| Completed | April 1912 |
| Stricken | June 1928 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Spahi-class destroyer |
| Displacement | 530–550 t (522–541 long tons) |
| Length | 64 m (210 ft) ( p/p ) |
| Beam | 6.6 m (21 ft 8 in) |
| Draft | 2.3 m (7 ft 7 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 2 shafts; 2 triple-expansion steam engines |
| Speed | 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph) |
| Range | 1,000–1,200 nmi (1,900–2,200 km; 1,200–1,400 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement | 77–79 |
| Armament |
|
Enseigne Henry was one of seven Spahi-class destroyers built for the French Navy in the first decade of the 20th century.
Design and description
The Spahi-class was over 50 percent larger than the preceding
deep load. Their crew numbered 77–79 officers and men.[1]
Enseigne Henry was powered by two
kW) which was intended to give the Spahi class a speed of 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph). During her sea trials, Enseigne Henry reached a speed of 28.46 knots (52.71 km/h; 32.75 mph). The ships carried enough coal to give them a range of 1,000–1,200 nautical miles (1,900–2,200 km; 1,200–1,400 mi) at a cruising speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[3]
The primary armament of the Spahi-class ships consisted of six
amidships. They were also fitted with three 450-millimeter (17.7 in) torpedo tubes. One of these was in a fixed mount in the bow and the other two were on single rotating mounts amidships.[1]
Construction and career
Enseigne Henry was ordered from the
launched on 12 May 1911. She was completed in April 1912.[4]
When the First World War began in August 1914, Enseigne Henry was assigned to the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla (2e escadrille de torpilleurs) of the
Cattaro, Montenegro, on 1 September. Four days later, the fleet covered the evacuation of Danilo, Crown Prince of Montenegro to the Greek island of Corfu. The flotilla escorted multiple small convoys loaded with supplies and equipment to Antivari, beginning in October and lasting for the rest of the year, always covered by the larger ships of the Naval Army in futile attempts to lure the Austro-Hungarian fleet into battle. The 2nd Flotilla bombarded Stončica Lighthouse on the island of Lissa on 19 September. The flotilla escorted multiple small convoys loaded with supplies and equipment to Antivari, beginning in October and lasting for the rest of the year, always covered by the larger ships of the Naval Army in futile attempts to lure the Austro-Hungarian fleet into battle. The Naval Army raided Lissa and the island of Lastovo on 2 November with the destroyer Lansquenet entering Vis harbor and extorting a ransom from the townsmen lest the French bombard the town. As they departed, the French shelled the lighthouse again.[5]
The torpedoing of the
Brindisi, Italy.[6] According to a British report of 5 June, Enseigne Henry and her sister Spahi were assigned to patrol the eastern coast of Sicily.[7]
References
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.
- Monograph No. 21: The Mediterranean 1914–1915 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. VIII. The Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1923.
- 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.