Bisson-class destroyer

The Bisson class consisted of six destroyers built for the French Navy during the 1910s. One ship was lost during the First World War, but the others survived to be scrapped afterwards.

Design and description
The Bisson class were enlarged versions of the preceding Bouclier-class destroyer built to a more standardized design. The ships had a length between perpendiculars of 78.1 m, a beam of 8.6 m, and a draft of 3.1 m. Designed to displace 850 - 880 t, they displaced 756 - 791 t at normal load. Their crew numbered 80–83 men.

The ships were powered by a pair of steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam provided by four Indret water-tube boilers. The engines were designed to produce 15000 shp which was intended to give the ships a speed of 30 kn. The ships carried 164 t of fuel oil which gave them a range of 1450 nmi at cruising speeds of 14 kn.

The primary armament of the Bisson-class ships consisted of two 100 mm Modèle 1893 guns in single mounts, one each fore and aft of the superstructure, and four 65 mm Modèle 1902 guns distributed amidships. They were also fitted with two twin mounts for 450 mm torpedo tubes amidships.

Ships
The class is named in tribute to the French Admiral Hippolyte Bisson who sacrificed himself aboard the ship Panayoti in 1827 during the Greek War of Independence.

Service history
The class served primarily in the Mediterranean Sea during the First World War, with Bisson sinking the Austrian submarine SMU U-3 (Austria-Hungary) on 13 August 1915 and Renaudin being sunk by SMU U-6 (Austria-Hungary) in return.