French ironclad Turenne

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French ironclad Turenne NH 66099.jpg
Turenne in Toulon in March 1890
History
France
NameTurenne
Laid down1876
LaunchedOctober 1879
Completed1882
Stricken1901
General characteristics
Class and type ironclad
Displacement6,260 long tons (6,360 t)
Length81 m (265 ft 9 in) lwl
Beam17.45 m (57 ft)
Draft7.62 to 7.7 m (25 ft 0 in to 25 ft 3 in)
Installed power
Propulsion
Sail planFull-ship rig
Speed14 to 14.5 knots (25.9 to 26.9 km/h; 16.1 to 16.7 mph)
Crew
  • 24 officers
  • 425 enlisted men
Armament
  • 4 × 240 mm (9.4 in) guns
  • 2 × 190 mm (7.6 in) guns
  • 6 × 140 mm (5.5 in) guns
  • 4 × 47 mm (1.9 in) Hotchkiss revolver cannon
  • 12 × 37 mm (1.5 in) Hotchkiss revolver cannon
  • 2 × 356 mm (14 in) torpedo tubes
Armor

Turenne was an ironclad of the French Navy built in the 1870s and 1890s; she was the second and final member of the .

Design[]

Main article:

The Bayard class of was designed in the late 1870s as part of a naval construction program that began under the post-Franco-Prussian War fleet plan of 1872. At the time, the French Navy categorized its capital ships as high-seas ships for the main fleet, station ironclads for use in the French colonial empire, and smaller coastal defense ships. The Bayard class was intended to serve in the second role, and they were based on the high-seas ironclad Amiral Duperré, albeit a scaled-down version.[1]

Turenne was 81 m (265 ft 9 in) long at the waterline, with a beam of 17.45 m (57 ft) and a draft of 7.62 to 7.7 m (25 ft 0 in to 25 ft 3 in). She displaced 6,260 long tons (6,360 t). The crew numbered 24 officers and 425 enlisted men. Her propulsion machinery consisted of two compound steam engines with steam provided by eight coal-burning fire-tube boilers. Her engines were rated to produce 4,400 indicated horsepower (3,300 kW) for a top speed of 14 to 14.5 knots (25.9 to 26.9 km/h; 16.1 to 16.7 mph). To supplement the steam engines on long voyages overseas, she was fitted with a full-ship rig.[2][3]

Her main battery consisted of four 240 mm (9.4 in), 19-caliber guns mounted in individual barbette mounts, two forward placed abreast and two aft, both on the centerline. She carried a pair of 190 mm (7.6 in) guns, one in the bow and one in the stern as chase guns. These guns were supported by a secondary battery of six 140 mm (5.5 in) guns carried in a central battery located amidships in the hull, three guns per broadside. For defense against torpedo boats, she carried four 47 mm (1.9 in) 3-pounder Hotchkiss revolver cannon and twelve 37 mm (1.5 in) 1-pounder Hotchkiss revolvers, all in individual mounts. Her armament was rounded out with two 356 mm (14 in) torpedo tubes in above-water launchers. The ship was protected with wrought iron armor; her belt was 152 to 254 mm (6 to 10 in) thick and extended for the entire length of the hull. The barbettes for the main battery were 203 mm (8 in) thick.[2]

Service history[]

Turenne, date unknown; the photo was likely taken while she was in Algiers in March 1885.[4]

Construction of Turenne began with her keel laying in March 1877 in Lorient;[3] her completed hull was launched in October 1879, and fitting out work was completed in 1882.[2] The ship was commissioned for active service in 1884.[4] On 16 February 1884, Turenne was involved in experiments with marine gyroscopes at Brest.[5] The ship was deployed overseas in 1885 to join the Escadre de l'Extrême-Orient (Far East Squadron) to reinforce the unit during the Sino-French War. The cruisers , , , , and , and several gunboats and smaller craft were sent along with Turenne. She departed Brest on 21 February and stopped in Algiers, French Algeria, on 3 March while en route. By 25 April, she had arrived on station in French Indochina, though a preliminary peace agreement had already been signed on 4 April, so Turenne saw no action during the war. Over the course of the ship's tour abroad over the next five years, she cruised extensively through East Asia, visiting numerous foreign ports.[6][7]

By 1889, the unit consisted of Turenne, the flagship, the old unprotected cruiser , the aviso , and the gunboats and . Turenne embarked on her final such tour on 14 August 1889 in company with Vipère, stopping in Chefoo, China, and then Nagasaki, Japan, by 13 September. On 14 November, she visited Kobe, Japan, before returning to Chinese waters. Turenne met Chasseur in Hong Kong on 9 December. Five days later, the two ships departed to return to French Indochina, stopping first in Along Bay on 17 December and then proceeding to Saigon on 4 January 1890. They arrived there four days later and immediately began preparations for Turenne to return to France. She departed on 30 January, stopping in Singapore, Colombo, and Aden on the way. She reached the Suez Canal on 2 March, and after entering the Mediterranean Sea, stopped in Toulon, France, on 13 March. After staying there a week, she left for Cherbourg.[6]

The ship took part in a training exercise for naval reservists in mid-1891; around 3,700 men were called up to take part in familiarization training and Turenne was activated to participate, along with the coastal defense ships , , and . They did not participate in formal maneuvers, and each vessel went to sea individually to train their crews.[8] In 1896, the contemporary journal The Naval Annual noted that the ship, along with the other station ironclads still in the French inventory, was "practically condemned" and would "shortly be struck off the list". She nevertheless remained in the navy's inventory as part of the 2nd category of reserve, along with several old coastal defense ships and unprotected cruisers. They were retained in a state that allowed them to be mobilized in the event of a major war.[9] The French government struck a number of old vessels from the naval estimates in 1899, removing funding allocated to keep them up.[10] Turenne was eventually struck from the naval register in 1901; her ultimate fate is unknown.[2]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Ropp, p. 97.
  2. ^ a b c d Campbell, p. 302.
  3. ^ a b Dale, p. 405.
  4. ^ a b Wright, p. 248.
  5. ^ Proceedings, p. 528.
  6. ^ a b Wright, pp. 248–249.
  7. ^ Olender, pp. 84, 101.
  8. ^ Thursfield, p. 62.
  9. ^ Weyl, pp. 88, 96.
  10. ^ Brassey, p. 78.

References[]

  • "Bibliographic Notes". Proceedings of the United States Naval Institute. X (3): 521–528. 1884.
  • Brassey, Thomas A. (1899). "Chapter III: Comparative Strength". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 70–80. OCLC 496786828.
  • Campbell, N. J. M. (1979). "France". In Gardiner, Robert (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 283–333. ISBN 978-0-85177-133-5.
  • Dale, George F. (1982). Wright, Christopher C. (ed.). "Question 23/81". Warship International. Toledo: International Naval Research Organization. XIX (4): 404–405. ISSN 0043-0374.
  • Olender, Piotr (2012). Sino-French Naval War 1884–1885. Sandomir: Stratus. ISBN 978-83-61421-53-5.
  • Roberts, Stephen (2021). French Warships in the Age of Steam 1859–1914. Barnsley: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-5267-4533-0.
  • 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.
  • Thursfield, J. R. (1892). Brassey, Thomas A. (ed.). "Foreign Naval Manoeuvres". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 61–88. OCLC 496786828.
  • Weyl, E. (1896). Brassey, Thomas A. (ed.). "Chapter IV: The French Navy". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 73–101. OCLC 496786828.
  • Wright, Christopher (2021). "The Deployment of the French Station Battleship Turenne, 1885–1890". Warship International. Toledo: International Naval Research Organization. 58 (3): 248–250. ISSN 0043-0374.
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