Descartes-class cruiser
The Descartes class was a class of protected cruisers of the French Navy. The class comprised Descartes and Pascal.
 Pascal, c. 1897–1900 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Descartes class |
| Builders: |
|
| Operators: |
 |
| Preceded by: | Linois class |
| Succeeded by: | D'Assas class |
| Built: | 1892–1897 |
| In commission: | 1896–1920 |
| Completed: | 2 |
| Retired: | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Protected cruiser |
| Displacement: | 3,960 long tons (4,020 t) |
| Length: | 96.32 m (316 ft) pp |
| Beam: | 12.98 m (42 ft 7 in) |
| Draft: | 6.5 m (21 ft 4 in) |
| Installed power: |
|
| Propulsion: |
|
| Speed: | 19.5 knots (36.1 km/h; 22.4 mph) |
| Complement: | 383–401 |
| Armament: |
|
| Armor: |
|
Design
In response to a war scare with Italy in the late 1880s, the French Navy embarked on a major construction program in 1890 to counter the threat of the Italian fleet and that of Italy's ally Germany. The plan called for a total of seventy cruisers for use in home waters and overseas in the French colonial empire. The Descartes class were ordered to as part of the program.[1][2]
General characteristics and machinery
The two Descartes-class cruisers were 96.32 m (316 ft) long between perpendiculars, with a beam of 12.98 m (42 ft 7 in) and a draft of 6.5 m (21 ft 4 in). They displaced 3,960 long tons (4,020 t). Like most French warships of the period, the Descartes-class cruisers' hulls had a pronounced ram bow, tumblehome shape, and a short forecastle deck . Below the waterline, the hulls were covered in a layer of wood and copper sheathing to protect them from biofouling on long voyages overseas. The ships had a minimal superstructure, consisting primarily of a small conning tower and a bridge. They were fitted with pole masts with spotting tops for observation and signaling purposes. The ships suffered from stability problems and had to have ballast added after completion. Their crew varied over the course of her career, and consisted of 383–401 officers and enlisted men.[3]
The ships' propulsion system consisted of a pair of vertical triple-expansion steam engines driving two screw propellers. Steam was provided by sixteen coal-burning Belleville-type water-tube boilers that were ducted into two funnels. Their machinery was rated to produce 8,500 indicated horsepower (6,300 kW) for a top speed of 19.5 knots (36.1 km/h; 22.4 mph). Coal storage amounted to 543 long tons (552 t),[3] which gave the ships a cruising radius of 5,500 nautical miles (10,200 km; 6,300 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) and 1,000 nmi (1,900 km; 1,200 mi) at 19.5 knots.[4]
Armament and armor
The ships were armed with a main battery of four 164 mm (6.5 in) Modèle 1893 45-caliber guns. They were placed in individual sponsons clustered amidships, two guns per broadside. These were supported by a secondary battery of ten 100 mm (3.9 in) Modèle 1891 guns, which were carried in a variety of mounts. Two guns fitted with gun shields were placed side-by-side on the upper deck, four more were in the upper deck forward in casemates. Another pair of guns were in sponsons further aft, and the remaining pair were in pivot mounts on the upper deck aft. The sides of the ships were recessed to allow the primary and secondary guns to fire directly ahead or astern. For close-range defense against torpedo boats, they carried eight 47 mm (1.9 in) 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns and four 37 mm (1.5 in) 1-pounder guns. These were all in single pivot mounts, distributed along the length of the ships. They were also armed with two 457 mm (18 in) torpedo tubes in her hull above the waterline.[3]
Armor protection consisted of a curved armor deck that was 30 mm (1.2 in) thick on the flat portion, curving down at the sides, where it increased in thickness to 60 mm (2.4 in). Above the deck, a cellular layer of watertight compartments was intended to contain flooding below the waterline. A light splinter deck covered the propulsion machinery spaces to protect them from shell fragments that penetrated the main armor deck. The gun shields for the deck-mounted 100 mm guns were 50 mm (2 in) thick. The ships had 70 mm (2.8 in) plating on the conning tower.[3]
Construction
| Name | Laid down[3] | Launched[5] | Completed[3] | Shipyard[3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Descartes | August 1892 | 27 September 1894 | July 1896 | Chantiers de la Loire |
| Pascal | December 1893 | 26 September 1895 | 1897 | Arsenal de Toulon |
Service history
Notes
- Ropp, pp. 195–197.
- Gardiner, pp. 310–311.
- Gardiner, p. 311.
- France, p. 32.
- Gardiner & Gray, p. 193.
References
- "France". Notes on the Year's Naval Progress. Washington, D.C.: United States Office of Naval Intelligence. XV: 27–41. July 1896. OCLC 727366607.
- 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.
- 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.