French destroyer Capitaine Mehl

Capitaine Mehl was one of a dozen Bouclier-class destroyers built for the French Navy in the first decade of the 20th century.

Design and description
The Bouclier class were designed to a general specification and varied significantly from each other in various ways. The ships had an overall length of 74 - 78.3 m, a beam of 7.6 - 8 m, and a draft of 2.9 - 3.1 m. Designed to displace 800 t, they displaced 720 - 756 t at normal load. Their crew numbered 80–83 men.

The ships were powered by a pair of Parsons steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam provided by four water-tube boilers. The engines were designed to produce 13000 shp which was intended to give the ships a speed of 30 kn. Capitaine Mehl handily exceed that speed, reaching 31.8 kn during her sea trials. The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 1200 - 1600 nmi at cruising speeds of 12 - 14 kn.

The primary armament of the Bouclier-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.

During World War I, a 45 mm or 75 mm anti-aircraft gun, two 8 mm machine guns, and eight or ten Guiraud-type depth charges were added to the ships. The extra weight severely overloaded the ships and reduced their operational speed to around 26 kn.

Construction and career
Capitaine Mehl was ordered from Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire and was launched from its Saint-Nazaire shipyard on 20 April 1912. The ship was completed later that year.