Renaudin at anchor
History
France
Name	Renaudin
Ordered	23 November 1910
Builder	Arsenal de Toulon
Laid down	1 February 1911
Launched	20 March 1913
Commissioned	1 January 1914
Fate	Sunk byU-6, 18 March 1916
General characteristics
Class and type	Bisson-classdestroyer
Displacement	800 t (787long tons) (normal)
Length	78.1 m (256 ft 3 in)
Beam	7.96 m (26 ft 1 in)
Draft	2.94 m (9 ft 8 in)
Installed power	4Guyot-du Temple boilers 15,000 shp (11,185 kW)
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2steam turbines
Speed	30knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range	1,950 nmi (3,610 km; 2,240 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement	4 officers, 77–84 crewmen
Armament	2 × single100 mm (3.9 in) guns 4 × single65 mm (2.6 in) guns 2 × twin 450 mm (17.7 in)torpedo tubes

Renaudin was one of sixBisson-classdestroyers built for theFrench Navy during the early 1910s. Completed in 1913, the ship was assigned to the1st Naval Army (1^ère Armée Navale) in theMediterranean Sea. During theFirst World War, she escorted thebattle fleet during theBattle of Antivari in August 1914 and escorted multiple convoys toMontenegro for the rest of the year.Renaudin helped to sink a crippledAustro-Hungarian destroyer during the1st Battle of Durazzo in late 1915 and protected theevacuation of theRoyal Serbian Army fromDurazzo,Albania, in February 1916. The ship was sunk by an Austro-Hungariansubmarine the following month with the loss of 50 crewmen.

TheBisson class were slightly enlarged versions of the precedingBouclier class. The ships had anoverall length of 78.1 meters (256 ft 3 in), abeam of 7.96 meters (26 ft 1 in), and adraft of 2.94 meters (9 ft 8 in).^[1] Theydisplaced 800metric tons (787long tons) at normal load. Their crew numbered 4 officers and 77–84 men.^[1]

Renaudin was powered by a pair ofBreguetsteam turbines, each driving onepropeller shaft using steam provided by fourGuyot-du Templewater-tube boilers.^[1] The engines were designed to produce 15,000shaft horsepower (11,000 kW) which was intended to give the ships a speed of 30knots (56 km/h; 35 mph). During hersea trials,Renaudin reached a speed of 30.55 knots (56.58 km/h; 35.16 mph).^[2] The ships carried enoughfuel oil to give them a range of 1,950nautical miles (3,610 km; 2,240 mi) at a cruising speed of 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph).^[3]

The primary armament of theBisson-class ships consisted of two100-millimeter (3.9 in) Modèle 1893 guns in single mounts, one each fore and aft of thesuperstructure, and four65-millimeter (2.6 in) Modèle 1902 guns distributedamidships. They were also fitted with two twin mounts for 450-millimeter (17.7 in)torpedo tubes amidships, one on eachbroadside.^[2]

Renaudin was ordered on 23 November 1910 as part of the 1910 naval program from theArsenal de Toulon and waslaid down on 1 February 1911. She waslaunched on 20 March 1913 and began her sea trials on 10 July. The ship wascommissioned on 1 January 1914 and was assigned to the 6th DestroyerFlotilla (6^e escadrille de torpilleurs d'escadre) of the 1st Naval Army in the Mediterranean.^{[Note 1]} During the preliminary stages of theBattle of Antivari,Montenegro, on 16 August, the 1st, 4th and 5th Destroyer Flotillas were tasked to escort the core of the 1st Naval Army while the 2nd, 3rd and 6th Flotillas escorted thearmored cruisers of the 2nd Light Squadron (2^e escadre légère) and two Britishcruisers. After reuniting both groups and spotting theAustro-Hungarianprotected cruiserSMS Zenta and the destroyerSMS Ulan, the French destroyers played no role in sinking the cruiser, although the 4th Flotilla was sent on an unsuccessful pursuit ofUlan. Having broken the Austro-Hungarian blockade ofAntivari (now known as Bar),Vice-Admiral (Vice-amiral)Augustin Boué de Lapeyrère, commander of the 1st Naval Army, decided to ferry troops and supplies to the port using a small requisitionedpassenger ship,SS Liamone, escorted by the 2nd Light Squadron, reinforced by the armored cruiserErnest Renan, and escorted by the destroyerBouclier with the 1st and 6th Destroyer Flotillas under command while the rest of the 1st Naval Army bombarded the Austro-Hungarian naval base atCattaro, Montenegro, on 1 September. Four days later, the fleet covered the evacuation ofDanilo, Crown Prince of Montenegro, aboardBouclier, to the Greek island ofCorfu. 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. Amidst these missions, the 1st and 6th Flotillas were led by theFrench destroyer Dehorter as they conducted a sweep south of Cattaro on the night of 10/11 November in an unsuccessful search for Austro-Hungarian destroyers.^[5]

After Italy signed theTreaty of London and declared war on theAustro-Hungarian Empire on 23 May, the ship was transferred to the 1st Destroyer Flotilla (1^ère escadrille de torpilleurs de escadre) in December which was assigned to the 1st Division of Destroyers and Submarines (1^ère division de torpilleurs et de sous-marines) of the 2nd Squadron (escadre) based atBrindisi, Italy.^[6] According to a British report of 5 June,Renaudin and the cruisersGuichen andChâteaurenault were assigned to patrol the area betweenSicily andCape Bon,Tunisia.^[7]

Several months later,Captain A. P. Addison's force (the Britishlight cruiserHMS Dartmouth, the Italianscout cruiserQuarto and the 1st Destroyer Flotilla) was alerted by a report of an Austro-Hungarian cruiser and five destroyers off Durazzo, shortly before 0700 on 29 December andsortied at 0715 in an attempt to cut off the Austro-Hungarian ships from their base at Cattaro. While attacking the ships in the harbor, theTátra-class destroyers had blundered into aminefield which sank one ship and crippledSMS Triglav. Another destroyer began towing the cripple and the Austro-Hungarians turned north at 6 knots (11 km/h; 6.9 mph).^[8]

Initially unaware of the losses suffered by the Austro-Hungarians, Addison had sailed directly for Cattaro, but when he was informed of the losses, he turned south, searching for the Austro-Hungarians. Smoke on the southern horizon was spotted at 1320, although Addison's ships had been seen five minutes earlier by the Austro-Hungarians; the tow had been dropped andTriglav abandoned. At 1338 Addison detached his destroyers to deal withTriglav which still had smoke coming from itsfunnels. The flotilla commander aboardCasque thought that the Austro-Hungarian ship was still underway and decided to engage it with gunfire rather than torpedoing it. The time required to sinkTriglav was longer than expected and left the flotilla unable to rejoin the pursuit despite following Addison's cruisers at full speed.^[9]

The flotilla covered the evacuation of the Royal Serbian Army from Durazzo on 23–26 February 1916.^[10]Renaudin andCommandant Bory were one of three pairs ofAllied destroyers patrolling theMontenegrin and Albanian coasts on 18 March when they were attacked off Durazzo (41°17′N19°22′E / 41.283°N 19.367°E /41.283; 19.367) by the Austro-Hungarian submarineSM U-6. One torpedo struckRenaudin, breaking her in half, and another missedCommandant Bory. The latter ship was able to rescue 30 survivors fromRenaudin's crew of 80 after the submarine disengaged.^[11][12]

• Cernuschi, Enrico & O'Hara, Vincent (2015). "The Naval War in the Adriatic Part 1: 1914–1916". In Jordan, John (ed.).Warship 2015. London: Conway. pp. 161–173.ISBN 978-1-84486-276-4.
• 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.
• O'Hara, Vincent P. & Heinz, Leonard R. (2017).Clash of Fleets: Naval Battles of the Great War, 1914-18. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 978-1-68247-008-4.
• 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.

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