From Argentina's Mendoza class to France's Aventurier class

Argentina had ordered the Mendoza class to answer ships being built in Britain and the United States for Brazil and Chile. Its requirements produced heavier armament and protection than comparable French destroyers while retaining a demand for speed. The listed armament comprises four 100 mm guns, an added 47 mm anti-aircraft gun, and four single 450 mm torpedo tubes. The export order used French Rateau turbines, while France's own prewar destroyers used Parsons units. In this interpretation, prospective opposition from Germany and Italy helps explain the preference for Parsons in France's own ships. France bought the newly completed ships in 1914 and commissioned them as the Aventurier class within months. Opiniâtre entered service in September 1914 and Téméraire in November. Most remained useful into the 1930s, with Aventurier struck in 1938 and broken up in 1940. Téméraire and Opiniâtre also escorted the senior French commander in the Mediterranean to meetings at Taranto because their size and appearance conveyed national status.