French destroyer Épée (1900)

Épée was one of four Framée-class destroyers built for the French Navy around the beginning of the 20th century. During the First World War, the ship saw service in the Mediterranean Sea and survived the war to be stricken from the naval register on 1 October 1920.

Design and description
The Framées had an overall length of 58.2 m, a beam of 6.31 m, and a maximum draft of 3.03 m. They displaced 319 t at deep load. The two triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one propeller shaft, produced a total of 4200 - 5200 ihp, using steam provided by four water-tube boilers. The ships had a designed speed of 26 kn and Épée reached a speed of 26.19 kn during her sea trials on 1 July 1901. The ships carried enough coal to give them a range of 2055 nmi at 10 kn. Their complement consisted of four officers and forty-four enlisted men.

The Framée-class ships were armed with a single 65 mm gun forward of the bridge and six 47 mm Hotchkiss guns, three on each broadside. They were fitted with two single 381 mm torpedo tubes, one between the funnels and the other on the stern. Two reload torpedoes were also carried.

Construction and career
Épée was ordered from Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée on 27 October 1897 and was laid down on 126 May 1898 at its shipyard in Granville-Le Havre. The ship was launched on 27 July 1900 and conducted her sea trials in May–July. She was commissioned for her trials on 2 January and was later assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron.

When the First World War began in August 1914, Épée was one of the leaders (divisionnaire) in the 3rd Submarine Flotilla (3e escadrille sous-marins) of the 2nd Light Squadron (2e escadre légère), based at Cherbourg, although the ship was not ready for service.