D'Estrées-class cruiser

The Destrées class was a type of protected cruiser of the French Navy, built in the late 1890s and which operated during the First World War.

Infernet
Class overview
Name: Destrées
Operators:  French Navy
Preceded by: Châteaurenault
Succeeded by: Jurien de la Gravière
In commission: 1899–1922
Completed: 2
Lost: 1
Retired: 1
General characteristics
Class and type: Protected cruiser
Displacement: 2,428 long tons (2,467 t)
Length: 95 m (311 ft 8 in) loa
Beam: 12 m (39 ft 4 in)
Draft: 5.39 m (17 ft 8 in)
Installed power:
Propulsion:
  • 2 × triple-expansion steam engines
  • 2 × screw propellers
Speed: 20 to 20.5 knots (37.0 to 38.0 km/h; 23.0 to 23.6 mph)
Range: 6,000 nmi (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement: 235
Armament:
Armor: Deck: 38 to 43 mm (1.5 to 1.7 in)

Design

In the 1880s and 1890s, factions in the French Navy's officer corps argued over the types of cruiser that best served France's interests. Some argued for a fleet of small but fast protected cruisers for commerce raiding, another sought larger and more powerful armored cruisers that were useful for patrolling the country's colonial possessions, while another preferred vessels more suited to operations with the home fleet of battleships. In 1896, the Conseil supérieur de la Marine (Superior Naval Council) ordered the two cruisers of the D'Estrées class for the construction program that was to begin that year at the behest of the colonialists for use in the French overseas empire.[1] A third member of the class, provisionally designated "K3", was authorized in 1897 but was not built; by that time, the French naval command had decided to build larger armored cruisers for all cruiser tasks, including colonial patrol duties.[2]

Characteristics and machinery
Profile and plan drawing of D'Estrées

The two ships of the D'Estrées class were 95 m (311 ft 8 in) long overall, with a beam of 12 m (39 ft 4 in) and a draft of 5.39 m (17 ft 8 in). They displaced 2,428 long tons (2,467 t). Their crew numbered 235 officers and enlisted men.[3]

The ships' hulls included a ram bow and an overhanging stern, but unlike other French cruisers of the period, they lacked a double bottom or a longitudinal bulkhead. Below the waterline, they were covered with a layer of wood and copper sheathing to protect them from biofouling on extended voyages overseas, where they would not have reliable access to shipyard facilities. The ships had a flush deck and a minimal superstructure, consisting primarily of a small conning tower. They had three pole masts, though one was later removed from each vessel.[3]

The ships' propulsion system consisted of a pair of vertical triple-expansion steam engines driving two screw propellers. Each engine was placed in its own engine room, divided by a watertight bulkhead to prevent flooding from disabling both engines. Steam was provided by eight coal-burning Normand-type water-tube boilers that were ducted into two widely-spaced funnels. The boilers were divided into pairs in four boiler rooms.[3][4]

Their machinery was rated to produce 8,500 indicated horsepower (6,300 kW) for a top speed of 20 to 20.5 knots (37.0 to 38.0 km/h; 23.0 to 23.6 mph). They carried 340 long tons (345 t) of coal for the boilers, and up to 470 long tons (480 t) at full load,[5][3] which gave the ships a cruising radius of up to 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph), according to the contemporary Journal of the Royal United Service Institution.[6] Warship International, citing the 1905 Marine Almanac, credits the class with a cruising radius of just 4,500 nmi (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at 10 knots.[5]

Armament and armor
A 100 mm (3.9 in) Model 1891 gun in a pivot mount

The ships were armed with a main battery of two 138 mm (5.4 in) Modèle 1893 45-caliber guns. They were placed in individual pivot mounts with gun shields, one forward and aft on the centerline.[3] They were supplied with a variety of shells, including solid, 30 kg (66 lb) cast iron projectiles, and 35 kg (77 lb) explosive armor-piercing (AP) and semi-armor-piercing (SAP) shells, firing with a muzzle velocity of 730 to 770 m/s (2,400 to 2,500 ft/s).[7]

The main battery was supported by a secondary battery of four 100 mm (3.9 in) Modèle 1891 guns, which were carried in sponsons in the hull. One pair was placed abreast the conning tower, and the other set of guns was located on either side of the rear funnel.[3] The guns fired 14 kg (31 lb) cast iron and 16 kg (35 lb) AP shells with a muzzle velocity of 710 to 740 m/s (2,300 to 2,400 ft/s).[8]

For close-range defense against torpedo boats, the vessels carried eight 47 mm (1.9 in) 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns and two 37 mm (1.5 in) 1-pounder guns. These were mounted in individual pivot mountings distributed atop and in the upper deck and, the latter firing through gun ports.[3] The ships were also equipped with fourteen naval mines.[9]

Armor protection consisted of a curved armor deck that was 38 to 43 mm (1.5 to 1.7 in) thick in the central power of the ships, where it protected the propulsion machinery spaces and the ammunition magazines. The deck was reduced in thickness toward the bow and stern, falling to 20 mm (0.79 in). Above the deck at the sides, a cofferdam filled with cellulose was intended to contain flooding from damage below the waterline.[3]

Construction
Name Laid down[3] Launched[10] Completed[3] Shipyard[3]
D'Estrées March 1897 27 October 1897 1899 Arsenal de Rochefort, Rochefort
Infernet December 1896 7 September 1899 1900 Forges et Chantiers de la Gironde, Lormont
K3[5] — — — —

Service history
D'Estrées in Shanghai in around 1920, seen from astern

Notes
  1. Ropp, pp. 284, 286.
  2. Fisher, pp. 238–239.
  3. Gardiner, p. 313.
  4. Ships, pp. 1007–1008.
  5. Fisher, p. 239.
  6. Garbett, p. 563.
  7. Friedman, p. 224.
  8. Friedman, p. 225.
  9. Ships, p. 1008.
  10. Gardiner & Gray, p. 193.

References
  • Fisher, Edward C., ed. (1969). "157/67 French Protected Cruiser Isly". Warship International. Toledo: International Naval Research Organization. VI (3): 238. ISSN 0043-0374.
  • Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One: Guns, Torpedoes, Mines and ASW Weapons of All Nations; An Illustrated Directory. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7.
  • Garbett, H., ed. (May 1904). "Naval Notes: France". Journal of the Royal United Service Institution. London: J. J. Keliher & Co. XLVIII (315): 560–566. OCLC 1077860366.
  • Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-133-5.
  • Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1921. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-907-8.
  • Ropp, Theodore (1987). Roberts, Stephen S. (ed.). The Development of a Modern Navy: French Naval Policy, 1871–1904. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-141-6.
  • "Ships". Journal of the American Society of Naval Engineers. Washington D.C.: R. Beresford. XI (4): 1081–1116. November 1899.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.