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Magon was one of six Bisson-class destroyers built for the French Navy during the 1910s.

Sister ship Bisson in harbor
History
France
Name	Magon
Builder	Ateliers et Chantiers de Bretagne, Nantes
Laid down	1911
Launched	19 April 1913
Completed	1914
Stricken	16 February 1926
General characteristics
Class and type	Bisson-class destroyer
Displacement	756–791 t (744–779 long tons)
Length	78.1 m (256 ft 3 in) (p/p)
Beam	8.6 m (28 ft 3 in)
Draft	3.1 m (10 ft 2 in)
Installed power	15,000 shp (11,185 kW) 4 water-tube boilers
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 steam turbines
Speed	30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range	1,950 nmi (3,610 km; 2,240 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement	80–83
Armament	2 × single 100 mm (3.9 in) guns 4 × single 65 mm (2.6 in) guns 2 × twin 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes

Construction and design

Magon was laid down at the Nantes shipyard of Ateliers et Chantiers de Bretagne in 1911 as one of six Bisson-class destroyers ordered for the French Navy under the 1910 and 1911 construction programmes as a follow-on to the earlier Bouclier-class "800-tonne" destroyers. She was launched on 19 April 1913 and was completed in 1914.[1][2]

The Bisson-class were 78.10 metres (256 ft 3 in) long between perpendiculars, with a beam of 8.63 metres (28 ft 4 in) and a draught of 3.1 metres (10 ft 2 in). The machinery powering the ships differed in detail between the ships of the class. Magon was fitted with four Indret boilers which fed steam to two set of Rateau steam turbines, with the machinery rated at 15,000 shaft horsepower (11,000 kW), giving a design speed of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph). Four funnels were fitted. Magon reached a speed of 32.02 knots (59.30 km/h; 36.85 mph) during sea trials, and was the fastest of her class, although operational sea speeds were lower.[1][2]

Armament consisted of two 100 mm (3.9 in) Modèle 1893 guns, four 65 mm (2.6 in) Modèle 1902 guns and four 450mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes in two twin mounts. This was modified during the First World War by the addition of a 47 mm or 75 mm anti-aircraft gun, two machineguns and provision for up to ten depth charges.[2][3] The ship had a crew of 5–7 officers and 75–77 other ranks.[1]

Service

First World War

Mediterranean

On 23 May 1915, Italy declared war on Austro-Hungary, and Magon was one of 12 French destroyers deployed in support of the Italian Fleet, operating out of Brindisi.[4][5] She was deployed on patrols aimed at stopping Austro-Hungarian surface ships and submarines from passing through the Straits of Otranto.[6] On 8 June, Magon was part of the escort (consisting of four Italian and three French destroyers) for the British light cruiser Dublin on a patrol off the Albanian coast intended to destroy Austro-Hungarian light naval forces. Despite the strong escort, the Austro-Hungarian submarine U-4 managed to torpedo Dublin, killing 13 of the British cruiser's crew, but the escort managed to drive away several more suspected submarine attacks, and Dublin successfully reached Brindisi without further damage.[7]

On 12 July, Magon and sister ship Bisson raided the island of Lastovo off the Austrian coast of the Adriatic (now part of Croatia), destroying oil stores and the telegraph station. This attack was simultaneous with the Italian occupation of Palagruža.[8] She remained based at Brindisi in September 1915, but on 6 December was recorded as being at Nantes.[9]

Dunkirk flotilla

From December 1916 Magon served in the Dunkirk flotilla, operating in the English Channel and Dover Straits.[5][2]

References

Bibliography

• Couhat, Jean Labayle (1974). French Warships of World War I. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0445-5.
• Fock, Harald (1989). Z-Vor! Internationale Entwicklung und Kriegseinsätze von Zerstörern und Torpedobooten 1914 bis 1939 (in German). Herford, Germany: Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft mBH. ISBN 3-7822-0207-4.
• Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal (1985). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
• Halpern, Paul G. (1984). A Naval History of World War I. London: UCL Press. ISBN 1-85728-498-4.
• Karau, Mark K. (2014). The Naval Flank of the Western Front: The German MarineKorps Flandern 1914–1918. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-231-8.
• Monograph No. 21: The Mediterranean 1914–1915 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. VIII. The Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1923.
• Newbolt, Henry (1928). History of the Great War: Naval Operations: Volume IV. London: Longmans, Green & Co.

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