French cruiser Alger

Profile drawing of an early version of the Alger design, incorrectly depicting a sailing rig

Admiral Théophile Aube, the French Minister of Marine in the mid-1880s, was an ardent supporter of the Jeune École doctrine that emphasized long-range commerce raiding cruisers. Upon becoming the naval minister in 1886, Aube called for the construction of six large and ten small protected cruisers, though by the end of his tenure in 1887, the program had been reduced to five large, two medium, and six small cruisers. Aube ordered the first two Alger-class cruisers to fulfill the requirements for the first set of large cruisers, and his successor, Édouard Barbey, authorized the third.[1][2] The three Algers proved to be the last of the initial series of commerce raiders built under the influence of the Jeune École.[3]

Alger was 105 m (344 ft 6 in) long between perpendiculars, with a beam of 12.98 m (42 ft 7 in) and a draft of 6.10 to 6.45 m (20 ft 0 in to 21 ft 2 in). She displaced 4,313 long tons (4,382 t). Her crew varied over the course of her career, amounting to 387–405 officers and enlisted men. The ship's propulsion system consisted of a pair of triple-expansion steam engines driving two screw propellers. Steam was provided by twenty-four coal-burning Belleville type water-tube boilers that were ducted into two funnels. Her machinery was rated to produce 8,000 indicated horsepower (6,000 kW) for a top speed of 19 to 19.5 knots (35.2 to 36.1 km/h; 21.9 to 22.4 mph).[4] She had a cruising radius of 3,200 nautical miles (5,900 km; 3,700 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[3]

The ship was armed with a main battery of four 164 mm (6.5 in) 28-caliber guns and six 138 mm (5.4 in) 30-cal. guns. All of these guns were placed in individual pivot mounts; the 164 mm guns were in sponsons located fore and aft, with two guns per broadside. Four of the 138 mm guns were in sponsons between the 164 mm guns, one was in an embrasure in the forecastle and the last was in a swivel mount on the stern. For close-range defense against torpedo boats, she carried a pair of 65 mm (2.6 in) 9-pounder guns, eight 47 mm (1.9 in) 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns, and eight 37 mm (1.5 in) Hotchkiss revolver cannon. She was also armed with five 356 mm (14 in) torpedo tubes in her hull above the waterline. Armor protection consisted of a curved armor deck that was 50 to 100 mm (2 to 4 in) thick, along with 50 to 75 mm (2 to 3 in) plating on the conning tower.[4]

Sketch of Alger, c. 1893

The keel for Alger was laid down in November 1887 in Cherbourg, and her completed hull was launched on 23 November 1889. She was completed in 1891.[4][5] The ship remained out of service until 1893,[6] when she was commissioned for service with the Northern Squadron, which that time included the ironclads Requin and Victorieuse, the coastal defense ship Furieux, and the protected cruiser Surcouf.[7] Alger 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]

Alger was sent with her sister ship Isly on a cruise to French Indochina, departing in October 1895.[6][9] She remained on station in the Far East in 1896,[10] and returned to France in February 1897.[6] After arriving home, she was assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron for the annual maneuvers that were conducted in July.[11] Alger had been deactivated and placed in the reserve fleet by January 1901.[12]

The ship's activities in the mid-1900s are unclear; Thomas Brassey's The Naval Annual lists Alger among the vessels that took part in the fleet maneuvers in 1906, 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.[13] But according to the historians John Jordan and Philippe Caresse, Alger had been reactivated in 1905 for another deployment to the Far East, along with the armored cruisers Bruix and Dupetit-Thouars, the protected cruiser Guichen, four gunboats, and five destroyers.[14]

The Naval Annual confirms that Alger was in service in the Far East by 1907, by which time the unit consisted of the large protected cruiser D'Entrecasteaux, Bruix, the armored cruiser Chanzy, and the smaller protected cruisers Descartes and Catinat, though the latter two vessels were detached from the main squadron to patrol the East Indies and Pacific, respectively.[15] Alger remained in the Far East in 1908, along with D'Entrecasteaux and Bruix.[16] Alger was reduced to a hulk in 1911;[4] she remained in the Navy's inventory until 1939, when she was broken up.[5]

• 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. (1907). "Chapter III: Comparative Strength". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 39–49. OCLC 496786828.
• Fisher, Edward C., ed. (1969). "157/67 French Protected Cruiser Isly". Warship International. Toledo: International Naval Research Organization. VI (3): 238. ISSN 0043-0374.
• 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.
• Jordan, John & Caresse, Philippe (2019). French Armoured Cruisers 1887–1932. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5267-4118-9.
• 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. LII (864): 861–864. June 1908. 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.
• "Service Performed by French Vessels Fitted with Belleville Boilers". Notes on Naval Progress. Washington, D.C.: United States Office of Naval Intelligence. 20: 299. July 1901. OCLC 699264868.
• Thursfield, J. R. (1898). Brassey, Thomas A. (ed.). "II: French Naval Manoeuvres". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 138–143. OCLC 496786828.