French destroyer Boutefeu

Sister ship Bouclier underway
History
France
Name:	Boutefeu
Namesake:	Linstock
Builder:	Dyle et Bacalan, Bordeaux
Laid down:	1909
Launched:	2 May 1911
Completed:	1911
Fate:	Sunk by a mine, 15 May 1917
General characteristics
Class and type:	Bouclier-class destroyer
Displacement:	732–809 t (720–796 long tons)
Length:	72.3–78.3 m (237 ft 2 in–256 ft 11 in) (o/a)
Beam:	7.6–8 m (24 ft 11 in–26 ft 3 in)
Draft:	2.9–3.3 m (9 ft 6 in–10 ft 10 in)
Installed power:	13,000 shp (9,694 kW) 4 water-tube boilers
Propulsion:	2 shafts; 2 Zoelly steam turbines
Speed:	30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range:	1,200–1,600 nmi (2,200–3,000 km; 1,400–1,800 mi) at 12–14 knots (22–26 km/h; 14–16 mph)
Complement:	80–83
Armament:	2 × 100 mm (3.9 in) Mle 1893 guns 4 × 65 mm (2.6 in) Mle 1902 guns 2 × twin 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes

Boutefeu was one of a dozen Bouclier-class destroyers built for the French Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. During the First World War she was stationed at Brindisi in support of the Otranto barrage.

On 15 May 1917, during the Battle of the Strait of Otranto, Boutefeu struck a mine laid earlier that day by the Imperial German Navy submarine UC-25 just outside Brindisi harbor. The destroyer broke in two and sank in under two minutes, with heavy loss of life.^[1][2]

References

1. World War I: Encyclopedia, Volume 1, p.870; Spencer Tucker, Priscilla Mary Roberts, Paul G. Halpern; ABC-CLIO, 2005
2. World War 1 at Sea-French Navy, Part 2 of 2-Destroyers, Submarines; Gordon Smith, Naval-History.Net http://www.naval-history.net/WW1NavyFrench2.htm retvd 6 27 16

Bibliography

• Couhat, Jean Labayle (1974). French Warships of World War I. London: Ian Allen. ISBN 0-7110-0445-5.
• Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal (1985). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.