French destroyer Escopette

Escopette was a Pertuisane-class destroyer built for the French Navy around the beginning of the 20th century.

Escopette in 1909
History
France
Name	Escopette
Namesake	Early carbine used by French cavalry
Ordered	8 June 1899
Builder	Arsenal de Rochefort
Laid down	January 1900
Launched	20 December 1900
Stricken	4 April 1921
General characteristics
Class & type	Pertuisane-class destroyer
Displacement	301 long tons (306 t)
Length	57.64 m (189 ft 1 in) (o/a)
Beam	6.3 m (20 ft 8 in)
Draft	3.2 m (10 ft 6 in)
Installed power	4 water-tube boilers 4,800 ihp (3,579 kW)
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 Triple-expansion steam engines
Speed	26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph)
Range	2,300 nmi (4,300 km; 2,600 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement	52
Armament	1 × single 65 mm (2.6 in) gun 6 × single 47 mm (1.9 in) guns 2 × single 380 mm (15 in) torpedo tubes

Construction and career

Escopette was ordered from Arsenal de Rochefort on 8 June 1899 and was laid down on 9 April 1900. The ship was launched on 20 December 1900 and conducted her sea trials from June 1902 to January 1903. She was commissioned on 26 January and assigned to the Northern Squadron.^[1]

Escopette made the headlines in July 1909 as the ship was chosen to escort Louis Blériot cross channel pioneering flight (with Mrs Alice Blériot on board). Sailing under maximum power Escopette was soon outrun by Blériot's monoplane. Contrary to Hubert Latham's unsuccessful flight where the non-swimmer pilot was rescued by another French destroyer harpon, when his Antoinette aircraft crashed into the channel after engine trouble, Escopette made a fast but uneventful passage to Dover where Mr and Mrs Blériot where reunited.^[2]

Louis Blériot chose to name his seaside villa "Villa Escopette" in Hardelot as a tribute to his escorting ship. Though the villa was destroyed during WW1 a memorial still exists on site.^[3]

When the First World War began in August 1914, Escopette was one of the leaders (divisionnaire) in the 2nd Submarine Flotilla (2^e escadrille sous-marins) of the 2nd Light Squadron (2^e escadre légère) based at Calais.^[4]