French cruiser Lalande

Lalande was a protected cruiser of the Troude class built for the French Navy in the late 1880s and early 1890s. The class was built as part of a construction program intended to provide scouts for the main battle fleet. They were based on the preceding Forbin class, the primary improvement being the addition of armor to the conning tower. Lalande was built in the 1880s and was completed in late 1890. She was armed with a main battery of four 138 mm (5.4 in) guns, protected with an armor deck that was 41 mm (1.6 in) thick, and had a top speed of 20.5 knots (38.0 km/h; 23.6 mph).

Lalande early in her career, c. 1890–1892
History
France
Name: Lalande
Builder: Forges et Chantiers de la Gironde
Laid down: 1887
Launched: 21 March 1889
Completed: October 1890
Stricken: 1912
Fate: Broken up
General characteristics
Class and type: Troude-class protected cruiser
Displacement: 1,968 long tons (2,000 t)
Length: 95 m (311 ft 8 in) (lwl)
Beam: 9 m (29 ft 6 in)
Draft: 5.18 m (17 ft)
Installed power:
Propulsion:
Speed: 20.5 knots (38.0 km/h; 23.6 mph)
Complement: 201
Armament:
Armor:

Lalande served with the Mediterranean Squadron for the first several years of her career, before being reduced to the Reserve Squadron in 1896 and again to the 2nd category of reserve. She temporarily returned to the Mediterranean Squadron in 1898 before once again being placed in reserve later that year, where she remained through 1905. The following year, she joined the Northern Squadron before transferring back to the Mediterranean for 1907 and 1908. She saw little use thereafter and was struck from the naval register in 1912, subsequently being sold to ship breakers for scrap.

Design
Main article: Troude-class cruiser

Beginning in 1879, the French Navy's Conseil des Travaux (Council of Works) had requested designs for small but fast cruisers of about 2,000 long tons (2,032 t) displacement that could be used as scouts for the main battle fleet. The unprotected cruiser Milan was the first of the type, which was developed into Forbin-type of protected cruisers after the Conseil requested light armor protection for the ships. The design was further refined with the Troude class, which added armor protection for the conning tower, among other improvements. All of the ships were ordered by Admiral Théophile Aube, then the French Minister of Marine and an ardent supporter of the Jeune École doctrine.[1][2]

Lalande was 95 m (311 ft 8 in) long at the waterline, with a beam of 9 m (29 ft 6 in) and a draft of 5.18 m (17 ft). She displaced 1,968 long tons (2,000 t). Her crew amounted to 201 officers and enlisted men. The ship's propulsion system consisted of a pair of compound steam engines driving two screw propellers. Steam was provided by five coal-burning fire-tube boilers that were ducted into two funnels. Her machinery was rated to produce 5,800 indicated horsepower (4,300 kW) for a top speed of 20.5 knots (38.0 km/h; 23.6 mph).[3]

The ship was armed with a main battery of four 138 mm (5.4 in) 30-caliber guns in individual pivot mounts, all in sponsons located amidships with two guns per broadside. For close-range defense against torpedo boats, she carried four 47 mm (1.9 in) 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns and four 37 mm (1.5 in) 1-pounder Hotchkiss revolver cannon. She was also armed with four 350 mm (14 in) torpedo tubes in her hull below the waterline, and she had capacity to carry up to 150 naval mines. Armor protection consisted of a curved armor deck that was 41 mm (1.6 in) thick, along with 25 mm (1 in) plating on the conning tower.[3]

Service history
Map of the western Mediterranean, where Lalande operated for much of her career

The keel for Lalande was laid down at the Forges et Chantiers de la Gironde shipyard in Lormont in 1887. She was launched on 21 March 1889 and she was completed in October 1890.[3][4] She conducted her sea trials that year.[5] In 1892, Lalande was assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron, where she served as part of the reconnaissance force for the main French battle fleet, along with the cruisers Sfax, Amiral Cécille, and Tage. The ship participated in that year's fleet maneuvers, which began on 23 June and concluded on 11 July.[6]

In 1893, Lalande remained with the Mediterranean Squadron. At that time, the unit also included several modern ironclad warships, the armored cruiser Dupuy de Lome, and the protected cruisers Amiral Cécille, Cosmao, Troude, and Jean Bart.[7] Lalande took part in the fleet maneuvers in 1894; from 9 to 16 July, the ships involved took on supplies in Toulon for the maneuvers that began later on the 16th. A series of exercises included shooting practice, a blockade simulation, and scouting operations in the western Mediterranean. The maneuvers concluded on 3 August.[8]

She was still serving in the unit in 1895, by which time the fleet's cruiser division consisted of Lalande, her sister ships Troude and Cosmao, Tage, and Suchet.[9] She remained in the Reserve Squadron in 1896.[10] That year, she was reduced to the 2nd category of reserve, along with several old coastal defense ships, ironclads, and other cruisers. They were retained in a state that allowed them to be mobilized in the event of a major war.[11] Lalande was activated to join the Reserve Squadron's cruiser division for the annual 1896 maneuvers, along with Sfax, Amiral Cécille, and the cruisers Milan and Léger. The maneuvers for that year took place from 6 to 30 July and the Reserve Squadron served as the simulated enemy.[12]

Lalande was reactivated in 1898 and assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron. The unit at that time consisted of four pre-dreadnought battleships, four ironclads, two armored cruisers, and three other protected cruisers, among other smaller vessels.[13] She took part in the maneuvers that year, which lasted from 5 to 25 July.[14] The ship was placed in the 2nd category of reserve in Toulon later that year.[15] Lalande and her sister ships had been deactivated and placed in the reserve fleet by January 1901.[16] She was reactivated in 1906 and assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron.[17] She took part in the fleet maneuvers that year, which began on 6 July with the concentration of the Northern and Mediterranean Squadrons in Algiers. The maneuvers were conducted in the western Mediterranean, alternating between ports in French North Africa and Toulon and Marseilles, France, and concluding on 4 August.[18] She was present for a naval review in Marseille on 16 September with elements of the Mediterranean Squadron.[19] She remained in service with the Mediterranean Squadron in 1907,[20] and in 1908.[21] The ship was struck from the naval register in 1912,[3] and she was subsequently broken up for scrap.[4]

Notes
  1. Gardiner, pp. 309–310.
  2. Ropp, pp. 129–130, 172.
  3. Gardiner, p. 310.
  4. Gardiner & Gray, p. 193.
  5. Ships: France, p. 601.
  6. Thursfield 1892, pp. 61–67.
  7. Brassey 1893, p. 70.
  8. Barry, pp. 208–212.
  9. Brassey 1895, p. 50.
  10. Brassey 1896, p. 62.
  11. Weyl, p. 96.
  12. Thursfield 1897, pp. 164–167.
  13. Brassey 1898, p. 57.
  14. Leyland 1899, pp. 210–212.
  15. Naval Notes: France, p. 1093.
  16. Jordan & Caresse, p. 219.
  17. Brassey 1906, p. 39.
  18. Leyland 1907, pp. 102–106.
  19. Jordan & Caresse, pp. 223–224.
  20. Brassey 1907, p. 41.
  21. Brassey 1908, p. 49.
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References
  • Barry, E. B. (1895). "The Naval Manoeuvres of 1894". The United Service: A Monthly Review of Military and Naval Affairs. Philadelphia: L. R. Hamersly & Co. XII: 177–213. OCLC 228667393.
  • Brassey, Thomas A. (1893). "Chapter IV: Relative Strength". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 66–73. OCLC 496786828.
  • Brassey, Thomas A. (1895). "Chapter III: Relative Strength". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 49–59. OCLC 496786828.
  • Brassey, Thomas A. (1896). "Chapter III: Relative Strength". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 61–71. OCLC 496786828.
  • Brassey, Thomas A. (1898). "Chapter III: Relative Strength". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 56–66. OCLC 496786828.
  • Brassey, Thomas A. (1906). "Chapter III: Comparative Strength". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 38–52. OCLC 496786828.
  • Brassey, Thomas A. (1907). "Chapter III: Comparative Strength". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 39–49. OCLC 496786828.
  • Brassey, Thomas A. (1908). "Chapter III: Comparative Strength". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 48–57. OCLC 496786828.
  • 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.
  • Jordan, John & Caresse, Philippe (2017). French Battleships of World War One. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-639-1.
  • Leyland, John (1899). Brassey, Thomas A. (ed.). "Chapter IX: Foreign Naval Manoeuvres". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 210–218. OCLC 496786828.
  • Leyland, John (1907). Brassey, Thomas A. (ed.). "Chapter IV: The French and Italian Manoeuvres". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 102–111. OCLC 496786828.
  • "Naval Notes: France". Journal of the Royal United Service Institution. London: J. J. Keliher & Co. XLII (247): 1091–1094. September 1898. OCLC 1077860366.
  • 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: France". Journal of the American Society of Naval Engineers. III (4): 599–604. 1891. OCLC 1153223376.
  • Thursfield, J. R. (1892). Brassey, Thomas A. (ed.). "Foreign Naval Manoeuvres". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 61–88. OCLC 496786828.
  • Thursfield, J. R. (1897). Brassey, Thomas A. (ed.). "Naval Maneouvres in 1896". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 140–188. OCLC 496786828.
  • Weyl, E. (1896). Brassey, Thomas A. (ed.). "Chapter IV: The French Navy". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 61–72. OCLC 496786828.
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