French destroyer Hallebarde

The Durandals had an overall length of 57.64 meters (189 ft 1 in), a beam of 6.3 meters (20 ft 8 in), and a maximum draft of 3.2 meters (10 ft 6 in).[1] They displaced 311 metric tons (306 long tons) at deep load. The two triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one propeller shaft, were designed to produce a total of 5,200 metric horsepower (3,825 kW), using steam provided by two Normand boilers.[2] The ships had a designed speed of 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph), but Hallebarde reached 27.2 knots (50.4 km/h; 31.3 mph) during her sea trials.[1] The ships carried enough coal to give them a range of 2,300 nautical miles (4,300 km; 2,600 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). Their original complement consisted of four officers and sixty enlisted men, but the number of enlisted men increased to 60 in 1899.[2]

The Durandal-class ships were armed with a single 65-millimeter (2.6 in) gun forward of the bridge and six 47-millimeter (1.9 in) Hotchkiss guns, three on each broadside. They were fitted with two single 381-millimeter (15 in) torpedo tubes, one between the funnels and the other on the stern. Two reload torpedoes were also carried; their air flasks, however, had to be charged before they could be used, a process that took several hours. The Modèle 1887 torpedo that they used had a warhead weight of 42 kilograms (93 lb).[2]

Hallebarde (Halberd) was ordered from Chantiers et Ateliers Augustin Normand on 5 August 1896 and the ship was laid down at its shipyard in Le Havre on 25 August. The ship was launched on 8 June 1899 and conducted her sea trials in July-August. She was commissioned on 12 September.[3]

When the First World War began in August 1914, Hallebarde was a leader (divisionnaire) in the 1st Submarine and Destroyer Flotilla (1^ère escadrille sous-marins et torpilleurs) of the 1st Naval Army (1^ère Armée navale),[4] based in Toulon.[3]

• Campbell, N. J. M. (1979). "France". In Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M. (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 283–333. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.
• Caresse, Philippe (2013). "The Unlucky Destroyer Espignole". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2013. London: Conway. ISBN 978-1-84486-205-4.
• Couhat, Jean Labayle (1974). French Warships of World War I. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0445-5.
• 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.