Arbalète was a built for the French Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. Completed in 1903, the ship was initially assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron ().
Design and description The Arquebuse class was designed as a faster version of the preceding . The ships had an overall length of ,Roberts, p. 377 a beam of , and a maximum draft of .Couhat, p. 86 They normally displaced and at deep load. The two vertical triple-expansion steam engines each drove one propeller shaft using steam provided by two du Temple Guyot or Normand boilers. The engines were designed to produce a total of for a designed speed of ,Stanglini & Cosentino, p. 227 all the ships exceeded their contracted speed during their sea trials. Arbalète proved to be the fastest ship of her class, reaching from during her sea trials. They carried enough coal to give them a range of at . Their crew consisted of four officers and fifty-eight enlisted men.
The main armament of the Arquebuse-class ships consisted of a single gun forward of the bridge and six Hotchkiss guns in single mounts, three on each broadside. They were fitted with two single rotating mounts for torpedo tubes on the centerline, one between the funnels and the other on the stern.
Construction and career Arbalète (Arbalest) was ordered from Chantiers et Ateliers Augustin Normand on 1 August 1900 and the ship was laid down on 23 November at its shipyard in Le Havre. She was launched on 28 April 1903 and conducted her sea trials during May–August 1903. The ship was commissioned () after their completion and was assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron.Roberts, p. 378
When the First World War began in August 1914, Arbalète was a leader () in the 1st Submarine and Destroyer Flotilla () of the 1st Naval Army (),Prévoteaux, Tome I, p. 30 based in Toulon.
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