Following
the
1904 Anglo-French Entente Cordiale, French
Navy policy was to concentrate its forces in
the Mediterranean against a likely
Italian-Austrian coalition, while maintaining
a mainly defensive position in the north
(North Sea, English Channel, Atlantic coast)
where the Royal Navy would predominate. French
forces in this area initially included seven
cruisers and a number of destroyers, torpedo
boats and submarines for patrol duty in the
western English Channel. In the Mediterranean
on the other hand was the 1st Armée Navale
under the command of Adm de Lapeyrère with 21
battleships (including four newly-commissioned
dreadnoughts and 6 Danton" class
pre-dreadnoughts), 15 cruisers, around 43
destroyers and 15 submarines.
The first
task of the Mediterranean battle squadrons was
to escort troop transports carrying North
African divisions to France in time for the
Battle of the Marne. By the end of August
1914, 14 battleships, 6 armoured cruisers,
destroyers and submarines were based at Malta
and patrolling the southern Adriatic Sea to
prevent any attack by the Austrian Fleet. They
also shelled Cattaro and Lissa. In September
1914, two French pre-dreadnoughts joined the
British squadron watching the Turkish
Dardanelles to prevent the German
battlecruiser Goeben breaking out.
Once
Italy entered the war on the Allied side in
May 1915 the French moved to more forward
bases at Brindisi on the Italian Adriatic
coast and the Greek island of Corfu. By
December 1915, the Serbs had been defeated and
the Army retreated across the mountains to the
Albanian coast. From here the French Navy
evacuated the Serbs first to Corfu, then to
Bizerta in northern Tunisia, and once reformed
to Salonika in north east Greece. An eventual
total of 270,000 men were evacuated by mainly
French forces without loss.
In
December 1916 the French played the major role
in resolving the confused Greek situation.
French warships arrived off Athens, and after
landing sailors and bombarding, forced the
pro-German Greek government to support Allied
policies. A number of Greek warships were
seized, commissioned into the French Navy and
later made a valuable contribution to Allied
anti-U-boat measures.
By 1918,
the French had come to play an important part
in the war against the U-boats - both on
patrol and as convoy escorts. Apart from
destroyers, anti-submarine forces were
organised into nine patrol and escort commands
with 111 torpedo boat's, 35 submarines, 63
sloops and gunboats, 153 submarine chasers and
734 armed trawlers.
Although
the French nations' contribution to the Allied
effort lay mainly with their vast Army on the
Western Front, they also played their part in
the war at sea and paid the price accordingly.
Losses included one semi-dreadnought and three
pre-dreadnought battleships, four armoured and
one protected cruiser, twelve destroyers and
fourteen submarines.
|
2.
FRENCH WARSHIP NAMES
Warship
names are generally:
Capital
ships & cruisers - kings,
admirals, generals, politicians, men of
letters, cities and provinces
Destroyers - weapons,
soldiers, naval heroes
Submarines - sea creatures,
precious stones, mythological characters,
scientists, months of the First Republic
calendar
The
French Navy - the Marine Nationale - does
not appear to use a prefix with ship names,
as for example, HMS in Britain's Royal Navy.
However, FS - French Ship or
FNS - French Navy Ship, are sometimes used
unofficially.
3.
WARSHIP NUMBERS and LOSSES - 1914-18
Type
|
August
1914 Strength
|
Wartime
additions
|
1914-18
losses
|
Dreadnoughts
|
4
|
3
|
-
|
Semi-dreadnoughts
|
6
|
-
|
1
|
Battlecruisers
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Pre-dreadnought
battleships
|
15
|
-
|
3
|
Coast
defence
ships
|
2
|
-
|
-
|
Armoured
cruisers
|
22
|
-
|
4
|
Protected
cruisers
|
9
|
-
|
1
|
Light/scout
cruisers
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
ex-Torpedo
cruisers
|
5
|
-
|
2
|
Seaplane
carriers
|
1
|
4
|
-
|
Destroyers
|
83
|
30*
|
12*
|
Submarines
|
55
|
c19
|
14
|
TOTALS
|
202
|
56
|
37
|
Note
* Includes 11 seized Greek destroyers.
One was lost, but is included in the Greek
section
4. LOSSES BY YEAR - (In date order
within each year)
Year
- Ships lost (All
in Mediterranean unless otherwise
stated)
|
1914
- destroyer
'Mousquet'
(Far East), submarine 'Curie'
|
1915
- submarine
'Saphir',
destroyer
'Dague', pre-dreadnought 'Bouvet',
armoured cruiser 'Léon Gambetta',
submarine 'Joule', ex-torpedo
cruiser 'Casabianca', submarine
'Mariotte, destroyer 'Branlebas'
(northern France), submarines
'Turquoise', 'Fresnel', 'Monge'
|
1916
- armoured cruiser 'Amiral
Charner', destroyers 'Renaudin',
'Fantassin', 'Fourche', submarine
'Foucault', destroyer 'Yatagan'
(northern France), pre-dreadnought
'Suffren' (Atlantic),
pre-dreadnought 'Gaulois'
|
1917
- ex-torpedo cruiser
'Cassini', semi-dreadnought
'Danton', destroyers 'Etendard'
(northern France), 'Boutefeu',
submarine 'Ariane', armoured
cruiser 'Kléber' (western France),
protected cruiser 'Chateaurenault'
|
1918
- submarines 'Diane'
(western France), 'Bernoulli',
destroyer 'Faulx', submarine
'Prairial' (northern France),
destroyer 'Catapulte', submarine
'Floréal', armoured cruiser
'Dupetit-Thouars' (Atlantic),
submarine 'Circé', destroyer
'Carabinier'
|
5. KEY TO MAIN CHARACTERISTICS
Tonnage
- standard displacement; Speed -
designed speed at standard displacement,
rarely attained in service; Main
armament - sometimes changed as the
war progressed; secondary armament usually
changed; Complement - normal peace
time. Exceeded in war with consequent
reduction in living space and higher battle
casualties; Year - year or years
class completed and normally entered
service. Only includes ships completed up to
war's end; Loss Positions -
estimated from location unless available
from reliable sources; Casualties -
totals of men lost, or survivors plus saved,
will often exceed peacetime complements.
French
torpedo and gun calibres
in cm and inches:
Torpedoes:
45.7cm - 18in; 45cm -
17.7in; 38cm - 15in
Guns:
34cm - 13.4in; 30.5cm -
12in; 27.4cm - 10.8in; 24cm
- 9.4in; 19.4cm - 7.5in;
16.47cm - 6.4in; 13.86cm -
5.4in; 12cm - 4.7in; 10.2cm
- 4in; 10cm - 3.9in; 7.6cm -
3in; 7.5cm - 2.9in; 6.5cm -
2.5in; 4.7cm - 1.8in
|
|
PRE-DREADNOUGHT
BATTLESHIPS
August
1914 Strength (15)
Nine in the Mediterranean with 1st Armée
Navale.
Note: three were wartime losses
|
CHARLES
MARTEL types,
5 ships of different designs, 1 lost,
c12,000t, c17 knots,
2-30.5cm/2-27.4cm/8-13.86cm, c 650
crew, 1897-98
CHARLES
MARTEL (8th cen Frankish king)
CARNOT (Napoleonic war general &
politician)
JAURÉGUIBERRY (19th cen admiral)
MASSÉNA (Napoleonic war marshall)
BOUVET (18th cen explorer)
Bouvet
took part in the February and March
1915 naval attacks on the
Dardanelles forts and defences
BOUVET,
18th March 1915, Turkish waters,
some 7 miles inside the Dardanelles,
Eren Keui Bay - one Turkish mine.
Bouvet was third from left of the
four French battleship squadron
(Rear-Adm Emile Guépratte) taking
part in the Main Naval Attack on the
Dardanelles defences, this time far
enough in to bombard the Narrows at
Chanak. Around noon, as the Line A
of British ships continued
bombarding at long range, the French
Line B was signalled to pass through
for a more close-range attack on the
Narrows defences. Two of the French
ships (Gaulois and Suffren below;
the fourth battleship was
Charlemagne) were badly damaged by
return shellfire, but worse was to
come. As Bouvet retired led by
flagship Suffren turning south
towards the Asia shore, she
exploded, believed at the time to
have been hit in a magazine by a
heavy shell at 13.54hrs and capsized
and sank in two minutes taking most
of her c700 crew crew with her.
Reportedly 640 men including Capt
Rageot de la Touche
were killed and 21 saved. In fact
she had been mined in an area
believed cleared by the Allies. The
small Turkish Nusret (365 tons) had
laid a line of just 20 mines on the
night of the 8th March in an area
they noticed was used by the Allied
warship for manoeuvring. Only three
had been swept by the British
minesweepers. Some sources,
including modern ones still credit
her loss to a shell hit in a
magazine, even though post-Great War
research confirmed that a mine sank
"Bouvet".
The
1919 Jane’s Fighting Ships reported
her sunk by a shore torpedo fired
from the White Cliffs in the
Dardanelles.
This
same short line of mines also sank
British battleship Irresistible,
finished off the shellfire-damaged
Ocean, and badly flooded
battlecruiser Inflexible. On that
day, out of 16 Allied capital
ships taking part, three were sunk
and three heavily damaged in
exchange for a few Turkish guns
destroyed. As with the submarine,
this was another example of how a
small "weapon system" could change
history. The small Nusret’s feat
led to the Gallipoli landings, the
subsequent Allied failure to take
Constantinople and relieve the
Russians, and as some historians
suggest the Russian Revolution and
all that followed
Jauréguiberry
took part in the Gallipoli campaign
Masséna
was hulked in 1915 and
scuttled off Cape Helles, Gallipoli
in November 1915 as breakwater for
the January 1916 evacuation
|
Charles Martel
Jaureguiberry (Maritime
Quest)
Bouvet
|
CHARLEMAGNE
class, 3
ships, 1 lost, 11,100t, 18 knots,
4-30.5cm/10-13.86cm/8-10cm, 695 crew,
1899-1900
CHARLEMAGNE
(9th cen Holy Roman emperor)
GAULOIS
(Gallic, of Gaul),
ST
LOUIS (King Louis IX, 13th cen)
Charlemagne,
Gaulois both took part in the
February and March 1915 naval
attacks on the Dardanelles forts and
defences
Gaulois,
damaged 18th March
1915, Turkish waters, up to some 8
miles inside the Dardanelles -
Turkish fixed and mobile land
batteries. Gaulois was on the
extreme left of the four French
battleship squadron taking part in
the Main Naval Attack on the
Dardanelles defences which led to
the loss of Bouvet (see above).
Badly holed below the waterline in
the early afternoon by the return
fire, Gaulois flooded rapidly and
had to be beached off the entrance
to the Dardanelles on Rabbit Island,
north of Tenedos. After pumping out,
patching and refloating she went to
Malta to be repaired. Casualties
were reportedly light
GAULOIS,
sunk 27th December
1916, Eastern Mediterranean, off S
coast of Greece, 30 miles E of
Cerigo island (or Kythira, Kithira,
Cythera) (36.30N, 23.45E) -
torpedoed once by German UB.47.
Gaulois was on passage from the
French base at Corfu off the west
coast of Greece around to the Allied
enclave at Salonika in the NW
Aegean. Rounding Greece on course
for and 80 miles from the island of
Milos, UB.47 (Lt Wolfgang
Steinbauer) penetrated her escort of
one destroyer and two trawlers and
sank her. The explosion killed four
men, but she stayed afloat for 25
minutes before sinking on an even
keel. The rest of the crew of 631
was taken off by the escorting
vessels
|
Charlemagne
Gaulois
|
HENRI
IV (16th cen king), 8,950t, 17
knots, 2-27.4cm/7-13.86cm, 460 crew,
1903
Henri
IV took part in the Gallipoli
campaign
|
|
SUFFREN
(18th cen Admiral), lost, 12,700t, 18
knots, 4-30.5cm/10-16.47cm/8-10cm,
launched 1899
Suffren
took part in the February and March
1915 naval attacks on the
Dardanelles forts and defences
Suffren,
damaged 18th March
1915, Turkish waters up to some 8
miles inside the Dardanelles -
Turkish fixed and mobile land
batteries. Suffren (flagship of
Rear-Adm Emile Guépratte) was on the
extreme right of the four French
battleship squadron taking part in
the Main Naval Attack on the
Dardanelles defences which led to
the loss of Bouvet (see above). She
was damaged by the return fire. Hit
around 14 times, a large plunging
shell struck forward and flooded
some compartments, and a 9.4in
started a potentially disastrous
ammunition fire. She returned to
Malta for repairs with reportedly
light casualties
SUFFREN,
sunk night of the
25th/26th November 1916, North
Atlantic, 90 miles W of Portugal at
the longitude of the coastal
Berlenga (or Burling) islands (c
39.30N, 11-00W, un - 39.10N, 10.48W)
- torpedoed twice by German U.52.
Following service off Gallipoli and
Salonika, Suffren (Capt Guepin) was
sailing to Brest (other sources -
Lorients) on the French Biscay coast
for a badly needed refit. Damaged at
the Dardanelles and in a later
collision her engines were incapable
of pushing her at more than 10
knots. Steaming at 9 knots in a
heavy sea and without escort, the
torpedo is believed to have exploded
her magazines and she went down
instantly; there were no survivors
from the crew of 648 men. U.52 (Lt
Cdr Walther Hans) was on passage
south from Germany to Cattaro in the
Adriatic for Mediterranean
operations. Other sources place her
loss around 50 miles northwest of
Lisbon.
|
Under
air attack in Dardanelles
|
RÉPUBLIQUE class, 2
ships, 14,600t, 19 knots,
4-30.5cm/18-16.47cm, 770 crew, 1906
RÉPUBLIQUE
(republic)
PATRIE
(country)
|
Republique
|
LIBERTÉ
class, 3
ships, 14,850t, 19 knots,
4-30.5cm/10-19.4cm, 740 crew, 1908
DÉMOCRATIE
(democracy)
JUSTICE
(justice)
VERITÉ
(truth)
Class
nameship Liberté was sunk by
internal explosion in 1911.
The
three Liberté’s and four of
the surviving Danton’s formed the
main element of Allied forces in the
Aegean Sea based at Mudros (Lemnos)
in 1918
|
Democratie
|
SEMI-DREADNOUGHTS
August
1914 Strength (6)
Note:
one was a wartime loss |
DANTON
class, 6
ships, 1 lost, 18,300t, 19 knots,
4-30.5cm/12-24cm/16-7.5cm, c 900
crew, 1911.
CONDORCET
(18th cen philosopher)
DANTON (French Revolution leader)
DIDEROT (18th cen philosopher)
MIRABEAU (French Revolution leader)
VERGNIAUD (French Revolution leader)
VOLTAIRE (18th cen writer)
All
Danton class in the
Mediterranean with 1st Armée
Navale.
Four
of the Danton’s plus
dreadnought Provence appeared off
Athens in December 1916 in a
demonstration of power which led
to the Greek government accepting
Allied proposals for their conduct
in the war
DANTON,
19th March 1917, Central
Mediterranean, off SW Sardinia, 30
miles southwest of San Pietro
island (c 38.45N, 07.45E, un -
38.46N, 8.11E) - torpedoed by
German U.64. Following a refit
Danton was sailing from Toulon,
southern France to the French base
at Corfu off western Greece to
join the blockade of the Strait of
Otranto. Her normal complement was
greatly exceeded and 1,102 men
were on board. Zig-zagging at the
time and apparently escorted by
only one destroyer, U.64 (Lt Cdr
Robert Moraht) successfully fired
her torpedoes but then lost trim,
surfaced and was attacked with
depth charges by the escorting
Massue. She escaped and Massue
went to the rescue of the
survivors. Danton took 45 minutes
to founder and in that time 806
men were saved, but 296 were lost.
Other sources place her loss
around 20 miles from the Sardinian
coast. They also vary on the
number of torpedo hits - one or
two.
Four
of the surviving Danton’s and
three Liberté-class battleships
formed the main element of Allied
forces in the Aegean Sea based at
Mudros (Lemnos) in 1918
Voltaire,
damaged night of 10th/11th October
1918 (un - 18th), Eastern
Mediterranean, off S coast of
Greece, near Cerigotto island (or
Antikythira, c 36°00N, 23°00E; un
- in Cervi Channel off Mudros) -
torpedoed twice by German UB.48.
Sailing for the Allied northern
Aegean base of Mudros, Lemnos
island after refit, Voltaire was
only lightly damaged by UB.48 (Lt
Cdr Wolfgang Steinbauer - the same
Steinbauer who sank Gaulois in
UB.47 two years earlier)
Voltaire
and other Danton’s of the Aegean
Sea Squadron joined the Allied
Fleet that anchored off
Constantinople on the 13th
November 1918
|
Danton
Danton (detail)
Diderot
(AM)
Voltaire
|
DREADNOUGHTS
August
1914 Strength (2 plus 2 on trials) |
COURBET class,
4 ships, 22,200t, 20 knots,
12-30.5cm/22-13.86cm, c 1,100 crew,
1913-14
COURBET
(19th cen Admiral)
FRANCE
(the nation)
JEAN
BART (17th cen Admiral)
PARIS
(capital of France)
All
Courbet class in the
Mediterranean with 1st Armée
Navale
Jean
Bart,
damaged 21st December 1914, southern
Adriatic Sea in Strait of Otranto -
torpedoed once by Austrian U.12. As
the French battlefleet was carrying
out a sweep into the Adriatic
covering the transport of supplies
to Montenegro, they experienced the
power of the submarine to influence
surface ship strategy and tactics.
Adm Lapeyrère’s unscreened flagship
Jean Bart was hit in the bow by a
torpedo, reportedly abreast the
wine-store and just before the
forward magazine which remained
intact. Although she stayed afloat
and reached Malta safely, the French
blockade of the Adriatic was moved
south of the Otranto Straits and
thus became more distant. Some
sources describe Jean Bart as sunk
in this attack.
In fact she survived,
was demilitarised in 1936 and
renamed Océan. Scuttled at Toulon
on 27 November 1942 she was
finally scrapped after the war.
|
Courbet,
as built
Jean
Bart, after post-war reconstruction
|
Wartime
Additions (3) |
BRETAGNE class,
3 ships, 23,200t, 20 knots,
10-34cm/22-13.86cm, c 1,130 crew,
1915-16
BRETAGNE
(the region of Brittany)
LORRAINE
(of Lorraine)
PROVENCE
(of Provence)
All
Bretagne class joined 1st Armée
Navale in the Mediterranean
|
Bretagne, later reconstructed |
COAST
DEFENCE SHIPS
August
1914 Strength (2) |
AMIRAL
TRÉHOURT class, 2
ships, 6,680t, 17 knots,
230.5cm/8-10.2cm, launched 1892
AMIRAL
TRÉHOURT
BOUVINES (1214 Flanders battle), had
two funnels
Amiral
Tréhourt spent the war as a
submarine depot ship
|
Amiral Trehourt
|
ARMOURED
CRUISERS
August
1914 Strength (22)
Seven in the Mediterranean with 1st
Armée Navale
Note:
four were wartime losses |
AMIRAL
CHARNER class,
3 ships, 1 lost, c4,800t, 18 knots,
2-19.4cm/6-13.86cm, 390 crew, 1894/96
AMIRAL
CHARNER (19th cen admiral)
BRUIX
(Napoleonic
war admiral)
LATOUCHE-TRÉVILLE
(Napoleonic
war admiral)
Amiral
Charner and protected
cruiser D’Entrecasteaux spent 1914
patrolling and bombarding the
Syrian coast, and in February 1915
took part in the defence of the
Suez Canal against Turkish land
attack with other British and
French warships
AMIRAL
CHARNER,
8th February 1916, Eastern
Mediterranean, 15 miles west of
Beirut, Turkish Syria (un -
33.21N, 34.54E, while
returning to Port Said)
- torpedoed by German U.21. Amiral
Charner was on patrol off the
Syrian (now the Lebanese) coast
when attacked by U.21 (Lt Cdr Otto
Hersing who sank British
battleships Triumph and Majestic
off Gallipoli ten months earlier).
She went down in only four minutes
with the loss of all her crew,
reportedly 426 officers and men,
except for a single survivor
recovered on the 13th.
Latouche-Tréville
took part in the Gallipoli
campaign
Latouche-Tréville,
damaged 1915, Turkish waters, off
Gallipoli - Turkish gunfire
|
Amiral
Charner
Latouche-Tréville
|
POTHUAU (small port near
Toulons), 5,600t, 19 knots,
2-19.4cm/10-13.86cm, 460 crew, 1897 |
|
JEANNE
D’ARC (St Joan of Arc, 15th
cen), 11,100t, 21 knots,
2-19.4cm/14-13.86cm, 650 crew, 1902
Jeanne
D’Arc took part in the
Gallipoli campaign
|
|
GUEYDON
class,
3 ships, 1 lost, c 9,400t, 21 knots,
2-19.4cm/8-14.67cm/4-10cm, 570 crew,
1902-05
GUEYDON
(19th
cen admiral)
DUPETIT-THOUARS
(Napoleonic war admiral)
MONTCALM
(18th cen general)
DUPETIT-THOUARS,
7th August 1918, North Atlantic,
400 miles from Brest, western
France - torpedoed twice by German
U.62. Dupetit-Thouars had joined
or was about to join (un - had
sailed from New York with HB.7)
the escort of a 28 ship convoy
from New York for the last stage
of its voyage to Brest when
attacked at dusk by U.62 (Lt Cdr
Ernst Hashagen). She went down in
about 20 minutes with small loss
of life; most of her crew were
picked up by escorting American
destroyers
|
Dupetit-Thouars
|
DUPLEIX
class,
3 ships, 1 lost, c7,600t, 20 knots,
8-16.47cm/4-10cm, 530 crew, 1903-04
DESAIX
(18th cen general)
DUPLEIX
(18th cen French India governor)
KLÉBER
(Napoleonic war general)
KLÉBER,
27th June 1917, off Pointe de
St-Matthieu in the Iroise entrance
to Brest, western France (c 48.15N,
04.45W, un - 48.17N, 4.50W) - mine
laid by German UC.61 (Georg Gerth).
After service off Gallipoli and in
the Aegean, Kléber was refitted at
Bordeaux in 1916 before sailing to
Dakar, French West Africa as
flagship of the 6th Squadron. Now
returning to France, she was sunk
with the loss of 42 men; most of her
crew being saved by escorting
destroyers
|
Kleber
|
GLOIRE
class,
4 ships, c10,000t, 21 knots,
2-19.4cm/8-16.47cm/6-10cm, 615 crew,
1903-04
AMIRAL
AUBE (19th
cen admiral)
CONDÉ
(17th cen general)
GLOIRE
(glory)
MARSEILLAISE
(the national anthem)
Amiral
Aube took part in the July
1918 occupation of northern Russia
to protect Allied stockpiles from
Bolshevist forces. With two
destroyers, she also represented the
French Navy at the November 1918
surrender of the German High Seas
Fleet
|
Amiral Aube
|
LÉON GAMBETTA class,
3 ships, 1 lost, c12,400t, 22 knots,
4-19.4cm/16-16.47cm, 730 crew, 1905-07
LÉON
GAMBETTA (19th cen politician)
JULES
FERRY (19th cen prime minister)
VICTOR
HUGO (19th cen poet & novelist)
LÉON
GAMBETTA,
night of 26th/27th April 1915,
Central Mediterranean, 15 miles
south of Cape Santa Maria di
Leuca, SE tip of Italy in the
Ionian Sea (c 39.30N, 18.15E) -
torpedoed twice by Austrian U.5.
Léon Gambetta was part of the
French Fleet based at Malta
blockading the the Austrian Navy
in the Adriatic, usually from a
position south of the Strait of
Otranto. At this time the blockade
line was moved further north
because of expected Austrian naval
activity - the Allies were
negotiating with the Italians
which shortly led to them
declaring war on Austria-Hungary.
In spite of the growing threat
from Austrian and now German
U-boats in the Mediterranean, the
armoured cruiser was patrolling
unescorted at a reported seven
knots on a clear, calm night just
to the south of the Otranto
Straits when she was hit by U.5
(Lt Cdr Ritter von Trapp, later
made famous when his story was
partly told in the stage musical
and film "The Sound of Music").
Léon Gambetta sank in just 10
minutes. Out of 821 men on board,
684 including Rear-Adm Sénès,
commander of the 2nd Light
Division were lost. There were 137
survivors. The French cruiser
patrol line was moved south to the
longitude of Cephalonia, western
Greece. Other sources place her
loss 20 miles off Cape Leuca.
|
Leon Gambetta, and below sinking
|
JULES
MICHELET (19th cen historian),
13,100t, 22 knots,
4-19.4cm/12-16.47cm, 770 crew, 1908 |
|
ERNEST
RENAN (19th cen philosopher),
13,500t, 23 knots,
4-19.4cm/12-16.47cm, 820 crew, 1909 |
|
QUINET
class,
2 ships, 13,900t, 23 knots, 14-19.4cm,
860 crew, 1911
EDGAR
QUINET (19th cen philosopher)
WALDECK-ROUSSEAU
(19th cen prime minister)
|
Waldeck Rousseau |
PROTECTED
CRUISERS
August
1914 Strength (9)
Up to 8 in Mediterranean with 1st
Armée Navale
Note:
one was a wartime loss |
FRIANT
(Napoleonic
war general), 3,980t,
18 knots, 6-16.47cm/4-10cm, 340 crew,
1895.
Served
as repair ship
|
|
DESCARTES
(17th cen philosopher &
mathematician), 3,960t, 19 knots,
4-16.47cm/10-10cm, 380 crew, 1896 |
|
D’ASSAS
class,
2 ships, 3,900t, 20 knots,
6-16.47cm/4-10cm, 370 crew, 1898.
CASSARD
(17th/18th cen naval officer)
DU
CHAYLA (Napoleonic war admiral)
D’Assas
broken up in 1914
|
D'Assas
|
D’ENTRECASTEAUX
(18th cen explorer), 19 knots,
2-24cm/12-13.86cm, 560 crew,1899
D’Entrecasteaux
with armoured cruiser Amiral Charner
spent 1914 patrolling and bombarding
the Syrian coast, and in February
1915 took part in the defence of the
Suez Canal against Turkish land
attack with other British and French
warships
|
|
GUICHEN
(18th
cent Admiral), 8,150t, 23
knots, 2-16.47cm/6-13.86cm, 605 crew,
1899 |
|
CHÂTEAURENAULT
(17th cent Admiral), lost, 7,900t, 24
knots, 2-16.47in/6-13.86cm, 605 crew,
1902
CHÂTEAURENAULT,
14th December 1917, off north
Cephalonia, Ionian Sea (38.15N,
20.22E) - two torpedoes from German
coastal minelayer UC.38 (Hans
Hermann Wendlandt). Sailing as a
fast transport carrying troops
between Taranto and Itea in support
of the Allied Army in Salonika, the
old cruiser was sunk just before
entering the passage through to the
Corinth Canal. Escorting destroyers
Mameluk and Lansquenet sank UC.38,
and saved 1,162 lives, most of the
crew and troops
|
|
D’ESTRÉES
(17th cent Admiral), 2,430t, 20
knots, 2-13.86cm/4-10cm, 235 crew,
1899 |
|
JURIEN DE LA GRAVIERE (father
and son admirals, 18th/19th cen), 5,600t,
22 knots, 8-16.47cm, 460 crew, 1903 |
|
ex-TORPEDO
CRUISERS
August
1914 Strength (5)
Note:
two were wartime losses |
D’IBERVILLE
class,
3 ships, 2 lost, 970t, 21 knots,
1-10cm/3-6.5cm/100 mines, 140 crew,
1894-96.
CASABIANCA
(Napoleonic War Captain)
CASSINI
(18th
cen Italian-born French astronomer)
D’IBERVILLE
(17th
cen captain and explorer)
Converted
to minelaying gunboats in 1913
CASABIANCA,
night of the 3rd/4th June 1915,
Turkey, off Smyrna - own mines.
The Allies attempted to blockade
Smyrna and close off the Gulf of
Smyrna with minefields. During the
operation, Casabianca blew up and
sank on one of her own mines.
CASSINI,
28th February 1917, Central
Mediterranean between Corsica and
Sardinia in Straits of Bonificio -
German mine laid by UC.35 (Ernst
von Voigt). She was first thought
to have been torpedoed by UC.35,
but was more likely lost on the
U-boat’s mines. (un - confirms
mined, in 41.19N, 9.19E, 88
casualties)
|
Casabianca
|
DUNOIS class,
2 ships, 890t, 21 knots, 6-6.5cm, 140
crew, 1898/99
DUNOIS
(15th cen count)
LA HIRE (17th cen painter)
|
Dunois
|
SEAPLANE
CARRIERS
August
1914 Strength (1) |
FOUDRE
(lightning), 5,970t, 19 knots,
8-10cm/4-6.5cm/4-8 seaplanes, 410
crew, completed 1986
Originally
a torpedo cruiser (or torpedo boat
carrier) eventually converted to
seaplane carrier at Toulon in 1912
with 4 to 8 seaplanes. Served from
August 1914 with the 1st Armée
Navale based at Malta, but
transferred to Suez where her
Nieuport floatplanes played an
important reconnaissance role
during the early 1915 Turkish
attack on the Canal. From March to
May 1915, she was part of the
French squadron including
pre-dreadnoughts Bouvet,
Charlemagne, Gaulois and Suffren
that joined the Royal Navy in the
naval attack on the Dardanelles.
Later that year she was
re-equipped with Franco-British
Aviation (FBA) flying boats, but
for the rest of the war served at
various times mainly as submarine
tender and command ship.
|
Foudre as seaplane carrier
|
Wartime
Additions (4)
|
CAMPINAS
(Brazilian city), 3,300grt, 11 knots,
1-10cm/6-10 seaplanes, completed 1897,
ex-Chargeurs Reunis cargo liner.
Converted
at
Port Said in late 1915, and
commissioned January 1916. Equipped
with Nieuport floatplanes and later
FBA flying boats. Served in the
eastern Mediterranean area including
the Aegean Sea and Levant, and took
part in the mainly French Navy
intervention off Athens in December
1916/January 1917
|
(with
thanks to hazegray.org/Andrew Toppan)
|
Channel
Packets
NORD, PAS-DE-CALAIS (northern
France départements), 1,540grt, 21
knots, 2-3 flying boats, completed
1899, requisitioned Cie Chemins de Fer
du Nord Channel paddle-steamers.
Pas
de Calais was commissioned in July
1915 and based at Cherbourg; Nord in
June 1916 and based at Dunkirk. Both
were equipped with FBA flying boats
and carried out Channel patrols
until taken out of aviation service
in 1917.
ROUEN (city), 1,650grt, 24
knots, launched 1912, ex-Channel
packet requisitioned in 1914 as an
auxiliary cruiser.
Equipped
as a seaplane carrier with two FBA
flying boats in 1916 or 1917. Served
as a convoy escort in the
Mediterranean in 1917, but then
reverted to a transport.
|
Believed to be Nord in civilian service
Rouen, also in civilian service
|
DESTROYERS
August
1914 Strength (83)
Approximately 24 in Mediterranean
with 1st Armée Navale
Note:
12 were wartime losses
|
DURANDAL
class, 3
ships, 300t, 26 knots,
1-6.5cm/6-4.7cm/2-38cm tt, 52 crew,
1899-1900
DURANDAL,
FAUCONNEAU, HALLEBARDE
|
Durandal
|
FRAMÉE
class,
3 ships, 1 lost, 315t, 26 knots,
1-6.5cm/6-4.7cm/2-38cm tt, 48 crew,
1900-01
EPÉE,
PIQUE, YATAGAN
Class nameship Framée (Frankish
lance) sunk in 1900
YATAGAN
(Turkish dagger),
3rd November 1916, English Channel
off Dieppe, France - collision
with British SS Teviot. Yatagan
spent the war as a fishery
protection vessel and was on these
duties when rammed and sunk. Some
sources date her loss on the 4th
November, suggesting the night of
the 3rd/4th.
|
Epee
|
PERTUISANE class,
4 ships, 305t, 1-6.5cm/6-4.7cm/2-38cm
tt, 52 crew, 1902-03
ESCOPETTE, FLAMBERGE,
PERTUISANE,
RAPIERE
|
Pertuisane
|
ARQUEBUSE
class,
20
ships, 2 lost, 300t,
1-6.5cm/6-4.7cm/2-38cm tt, 60 crew,
1902-04
ARBALÈTE,
ARC, ARQUEBUSE, BALISTE, BÉLIER,
BOMBARDE, CARABINE, CATAPULTE, DARD,
ÉPIEU, FRANCISQUE, FRONDE, HARPON,
JAVELINE, MOUSQUET, MOUSQUETON,
PISTOLET, SABRE, SAGAIE, SARBACANE
Carabine
(rifle),
damaged date unknown,
Mediterranean - collision with
with British steamship Mentor.
Towed to Palermo, Sicily and
patched up for voyage to Bizerta,
Tunisia where she was stricken
CATAPULTE
(catapult),
18th May 1918, Mediterranean near
Bizerta, Tunisia - collision with
British steamship Warrimoo. Other
sources place her loss location
further west off Bone, Algeria.
MOUSQUET
(musket),
28th October 1914, Malay waters,
off entrance to Penang harbour in
Strait of Malacca (5.38N, 100.25E)
- gunfire of German cruiser Emden.
On patrol off north entrance to
Penang harbour during the Allied
ocean-wide hunt for the German
cruiser Emden. Among the ships at
anchor was Russian cruiser
Zhemchug. As Emden totally
surprised and sank her, Mousquet
returned to the sound of gunfire
and was herself destroyed by the
Emden’s guns around 07.44hrs; many
of her crew died including the CO,
Lt Théroinn
|
Mousquet
|
CLAYMORE class,
13 ships, 350t, 28 knots,
1-6.5cm/6-4.7cm/2-45cm tt, 60 crew,
launched 1905-08
CARQUOIS,
CLAYMORE, COGNÉE, COUTELAS, FLEURET,
HACHE, MASSUE, MORTIER, OBUSIER,
PIERRIER, STYLET, TRIDENT, TROMBLON
|
Claymore
|
BRANLEBAS
class,
10 ships, 2 lost - 340t, 27 knots,
1-6.5cm/6-4.7cm/2-45cm tt, 60 crew,
launched 1907-09
BRANLEBAS,
ÉTENDARD, FANFARE, FANION, GABION,
GLAIVE, ORIFLAMME, POIGNARD,
SABRETACHE, SAPE
BRANLEBAS
(clear for action!),
30th September 1915, southern
North Sea, off Nieuport, West
Flanders, Belgium - mined. Serving
with the North Sea flotillas. The
1919 Jane’s Fighting Ships locates
her loss further west off Dunkirk,
France
ETENDARD
(standard) ,
25th April 1917, English Channel
off Dunkirk - torpedoed by German
torpedo boat A.39. Blown up and
sunk with all hands
|
Branlebas
|
SPAHI
class,
7 ships, 1 lost, 530t, 28
knots, 6-6.5cm/3-45cm tt, 78 crew,
launched 1908-11
ASPIRANT
HERBER, CARABINIER, ENSEIGNE
HENRY, HUSSARD, LANSQUENET,
MAMELUCK, SPAHI
CARABINIER
(rifleman),
13th/15th November 1918, Eastern
Mediterranean off Latakia, Syria -
stranded and scuttled under Turkish
gunfire. Ran aground on the 13th and
destroyed two days later on the
15th, even though the Ottoman Empire
had formally surrendered to the
Allies
|
Carabinier
|
VOLTIGEUR
class,
2 ships, 450t, 28 knots,
6-6.5cm/3-45cm tt, 77 crew, launched
1908/09
TIRAILLEUR,
VOLTIGEUR
|
Voltigeur
|
CHASSEUR
class,
4 ships, 1 lost, 450t, 28 knots,
6-6.5cm/3-45cm tt, 78 crew, launched
1909/10
CAVALIER,
CHASSEUR, FANTASSIN, JANISSAIRE
FANTASSIN
(foot-soldier),
5th June 1916, Central Mediterranean
off the island of Fano, south of the
Straits of Otranto in the Ionian Sea
- collision with French destroyer
Mameluk. Rammed at night during a
submarine hunt, Fantassin was
finished off by gunfire from the
older destroyer Fauconneau.
|
Fantassin
|
BOUCLIER
class, 12 ships, 4 lost
- 800t, 30 knots,
2-10cm/6-6.5cm/4-45cm tt, 80 crew,
launched 1910-12
BOUCLIER,
BOUTEFEU, CAPITAINE MEHL, CASQUE,
CIMETERRE, COMMANDANT BORY,
COMMANDANT RIVIÈRE, DAGUE, DEHORTER,
FAULX, FOURCHE, FRANCIS GARNIER
BOUTEFEU
(firebrand), 15th May 1917,
southern Adriatic Sea off
Brindisi, SE Italy - mines laid by
German UC.25 (Johannes
Feldkirchner). In the 15th May
1917 Otranto Action, Austrian
cruisers raided the drifters
patrolling the Otranto anti-U-boat
barrage. In support of them the
Austrians and Germans carried out
a number of actions including
laying U-boat mines off Brindisi.
Protecting the British drifters
was a patrol of one Italian and
three French destroyers (less the
Boutefeu with engine trouble).
Allied warships, including two
British light cruisers sailed to
intercept the Austrian forces and
the Dartmouth was torpedoed and
badly damaged by the German UC.25
which had already laid the mines
off Brindisi. As Boutefeu sailed
to assist, she struck one of the
mines just after clearing the
Brindisi boom, was blown in half
and sank within two minutes.
DAGUE
(dagger),
24th February 1915, southern
Adriatic Sea in Antivari Roads -
drifting mine. Dague, on duty off
the port of Antivari through which
Allied supplies passed for
Montenegro, was the first French
warship lost in the Adriatic
FAULX
(scythe),
18th April 1918, Southern Adriatic
Sea in the Straits of Otranto -
rammed by French destroyer
Mangani. Both destroyers were part
of a force of seven or eight
Italian and French destroyers
escorting three Italian
battleships from Brindisi to
Taranto. In the Strait of Otranto,
Mangani’s steering broke down and
she collided with and sank Faulx.
An hour later in the Ionian Sea,
the Italian destroyer Carini
rammed and sank Benedetto Cairoli
(some sources date the Italian
collision on the 10th)
FOURCHE
(pitchfork),
23rd June 1916, southern Adriatic
Sea, east of Otranto in the Strait
of Otranto - one torpedo from
Austrian U.15 (Friedrich
Fahndrich). Fourche was in company
with Italian AMC Città di Messina
when the latter was hit by U.15
and sank. The destroyer attacked
with depth-charges, and believing
the submarine destroyed, started
to pick up survivors from the AMC.
Hit by another torpedo, the
Brindisi-based Fourche was cut in
half. (un - 20 miles east of
Otranto, in 40.09N, 18.48E, 19
casualties)
|
Boutefeu
Fourche
|
BISSON class,
6 ships in total, 5
completed by August 1914, 1 lost, c
760t, 30 knots, 2-10cm/4-6.5cm/4-45cm
tt, 80 crew, launched 1912-14
BISSON,
RENAUDIN, COMMANDANT LUCAS, PROTET,
MANGINI, MAGON
Bisson
took part with Italian AMC Città
di Messina in the sinking of
Austrian submarine U.3 in the
Strait of Otranto on the 13th
August 1915. In May 1917, with
Bouclier-class destroyers Boutefeu
(sunk), Cimiterre and Commandant
Rivière she took part in the
Allied naval action which followed
the Austrian cruiser attack on the
Otranto Barrage drifter line
Mangani
and the British Shark on the 10th
November 1918, were the first
Allied ships to anchor off
Constantinople on passage through
to the Black Sea
RENAUDIN
(Napoleonic
war captain),
18th March 1916, southern Adriatic
Sea, off Durazzo (Durres), Albania
- torpedoed by Austrian U.6 (Hugo
von Falkhausen). On a sweep from
Brindisi across the Adriatic with
other Allied ships, Renaudin was
hit by one of the few Austrian
submarines available for
operations. As with other French
destroyer losses, she also was cut
in two. (un - in 41.17N, 19.22E)
|
Renaudin
|
Wartime
Additions (30)
Note:
one Greek ship was a wartime loss |
ENSEIGNE
ROUX class,
2 ships, 850t, 30 knots,
2-10cm/4-6.5cm/4-45cm tt, 80 crew,
launched 1915
ENSEIGNE
ROUX, MECANICIEN PRINCIPAL LESTIN
|
Mecanicien Principal Lestin
|
AVENTURIER
class,
4 ships, 930t, 32 knots,
4-10cm/4-45.7cm tt, 140 crew, launched
1911.
AVENTURIER,
INTRÉPIDE, OPINIÂTRE, TÉMÉRAIRE
Argentine Navy orders taken over in
August 1914 and completed with
French armament
|
Opiniatre
|
ARABE
class, 12 ships, 680t, 29
knots, 1-12cm/4-7.6cm/4-45cm tt, 86
crew, launched 1917.
ARABE,
ALGÉRIEN, ANNAMITE, ARABE, BAMBARA,
HOVA, KABYLE, MAROCAIN, SAKALAVE,
SÉNÉGALAIS, SOMALI, TONKINOIS,
TOUAREG
All
built in Japan
|
Arabe
|
Greek* NIKI
class,
4 ships, 1 lost, 350t, 30 knots,
2-7.6cm/4-5.7cm/2-45.7cm tt, 58
crew, launched 1906-07
ASPIS,
DOXA, NIKI, VELOS
All
four seized by the Allies in
October 1916, taken over by the
French in November and served in
the French Navy 1917-18. By 1918,
the three survivors were back
under Greek colours on escort
duty, mainly in the Aegean.
DOXA
(glory),
27th June 1917, Central
Mediterranean, Sicily near the
Strait of Messina - torpedoed by
German coastal submarine UB.47
(Hans Hermann Wendlandt). Doxa was
still serving with the French Navy
on escort duty at the time of her
sinking; UB.47 was about to be
handed over to the Austrian Navy
as U.47. (un - in 38.08N, 15.35E,
29 casualties)
|
Doxa
|
Greek* THYELLA
class,
4 ships, 350t, 30 knots,
2-7.6cm/2-5.7cm/2-45.7cm tt, 70
crew, launched 1906-07
LONCHI, NAFKRATOUSA, SPENDONI,
THYELLA
All
four seized by the Allies in October
1916, taken over by the French in
November and served in the French
Navy 1917-18. By 1918, they were
back on escort duty under Greek
colours, mainly in the Aegean
|
Thyella
|
Greek*
AETOS
class, 4 ships, 980t, 32
knots, 4-10.2cm/4-53.3cm tt, 90
crew, launched 1911
AETOS,
HIERAX, LEON, PANTHIR
All
four seized by the Allies in October
1916, three (excluding Panthir)
taken over by the French in November
and served in the French Navy
1917-18. By 1918, the four were back
under Greek colours with the Georgis
Averof serving with the British
Aegean Squadron
*Greek ships appear to have retained
their Greek names in French sevice
|
Leon
|
SUBMARINES
August
1914 Strength (55)
Note:
12 were wartime losses
|
SIRENE
class,
4 boats, 155/215t, 9/5 knots, 4-45cm
external torpedoes, 13 crew, launched
1901
ESPADON,
SILURE,
SIRENE,
TRITON
|
Espadon
|
AIGRETTE
class, 2
boats, 180/255t, 9/6 knots, 4-45cm
external torpedoes, 14 crew, launched
1904
AIGRETTE,
COGOGNE
|
Aigrette
|
OMEGA,
305/410t, 10/6 knots, 2-45cm tt/4-45cm
external torpedoes, 22 crew, launched
1905 |
-
|
ÉMERAUDE
class,
6 boats, 2 lost, 390/425t, 11/9 knots,
6-45cm tt, 21 crew, launched 1906-08
ÉMERAUDE,
OPALE,
RUBIS,
SAPHIR,
TOPASE,
TURQUOISE
SAPHIR
(sapphire),
15th January 1915, Turkish waters
in the Dardanelles Narrows, off
Nagara Point - probably ran
aground. A month after British
submarine B.11 reached almost as
far as Chanak in the Dardanelles
and sank guardship Mesudiye,
Saphir was the first to try to
break right through to the Sea of
Marmara. She passed Chanak and got
as far as Nagara Point against the
fierce currents and after passing
under ten lines of mines before
her luck ran out. At this point,
sources vary. She probably ran
aground trying to avoid the
minefields, surfaced and and was
either scuttled or destroyed by
shore batteries. In some sources
she was mined. Many of her crew
were lost, reportedly 14 men
killed and 13 survivors. Other
sources date her loss on the 17th
January 1915
Of
the four unhandy French boats that
attempted to reach the Sea of
Marmara in 1915, only one made it
- Turquoise (following). Two more
- Joule and Mariotte - were lost
trying to break through before
Turquoise succeeded
TURQUOISE
(turquoise),
30th October 1915, Turkish waters
in the Dardanelles Narrows, off
Nagara Point - probably ran
aground. After successfully
reaching the Sea of Marmara,
Turquoise (Lt Ravenel) was forced
to turn back for her base at
Mudros in the Aegean because of
mechanical defects. Returning
through the Dardanelles, the
strong currents ran her aground on
the southern shore at Nagara Point
right under a Turkish fort. To
save the lives of his crew, Lt
Ravenel surrendered and Turquoise
was captured intact. All the crew
of 25 were saved and taken
prisoner. Unfortunately
confidential papers and charts
were not destroyed, and a notebook
or chart (sources vary) revealed
information about a rendezvous
with the British E.20. A week
later, on the 5th November E.20
was ambushed and sunk by German
U-boat UB.14. In other accounts,
she was damaged by Turkish shore
batteries and beached; ran aground
and hit; or sunk by the gunfire of
Turkish warships. Her date of loss
is also given as the 31st October.
Turquoise
was refloated on the 3rd November
1915 and incorporated into the
Turkish Navy as Mustadieh Ombashi,
but never recommissioned.
|
Saphir
Turquoise
|
CIRCÉ,
lost - 350/490t, 11/7 knots, 6-45cm
external torpedoes/1-4.7cm, 22 crew,
launched 1907
CIRCÉ
(Circe, mythology),
20th September 1918, southern
Adriatic Sea, off Kattaro (Kotor) -
torpedoed by Austrian U.47 (Hugo von
Seyffertitz, ex-German UB.47). Circé
was on anti-submarine patrol at the
time; one survivor picked up. (un -
in 41.39N, 19.25E)
|
|
PLUVIOSE
class,
17 boats in total, 4 lost, 400/550t,
12/8 knots, 1-45cm tt/6-45cm external
torpedoes, 24 crew, launched 1907-10
AMPÈRE,
BERTHELOT, CUGNOT, FLORÉAL, FRESNEL,
FRUCTIDOR, GAY-LUSSAC, GERMINAL,
GIFFARD, MESSIDOR, MONGE, PAPIN,
PLUVIÔSE, PRIARIAL, THERMIDOR,
VENDÉMIAIRE, VENTÔSE, WATT
FLORÉAL
(from flowering - eighth month of
First Republic calendar),
2nd August 1918, northern Aegean
Sea - collision with British armed
boarding steamer Hazel. Two
locations are given - off
Salonika, NE Greece or off Mudros
on the island of Lemnos; all 26
crew were saved
FRESNEL
(19th cen physicist),
5th December 1915, southern
Adriatic Sea off the mouth of the
Bojana River, northern Albania -
ran aground and destroyed by
Austrian forces. On patrol off the
Albanian coast, Fresnel ran
aground at night in heavy fog on a
sandbank off the Bojana. Her crew
made every effort to free her but
without success. At daylight she
was sighted by an Austrian light
force including cruiser Novara and
four destroyers returning from a
raid along the coast between
Bojano and San Giovanni de Medua
(Shengjin), north Albania where
they sank a number of ships.
Destroyer Warasdiner (or
Varasdinier) took off Fresnel’s
crew and finished her with
gunfire. All 26 crew were saved.
Other sources give two varying
accounts of her loss - (1) Fresnel
was surprised further north off
Cattaro by Austrian aircraft,
attacked by the Warasdiner,
beached, abandoned and blown up;
and (2) torpedoed further south
off Durazzo by Austrian
destroyers.
MONGE
(late 18th cen
mathematician),
29th December 1915, south Adriatic
Sea, south of Cattaro (Kotor) -
Austrian warships. An Austrian
force of new scout cruiser
Helgoland and five Tatra-class
destroyers sailed from the advance
southern Austrian base of Cattaro
late on the 28th to attack Durazzo
and interfere with the evacuation
of Serbian forces. On passage they
sighted the Monge early on the
29th on patrol to the south of
Cattaro. Destroyer Balaton opened
fire, rammed and sank her. Before
the Austrian operation was over,
two of the Tatra destroyers were
lost on mines. The 1919 Jane’s
Fighting Ships attributes her loss
to ramming by the cruiser
Helgoland off Cattaro.
PRAIRIAL
(from
meadow - ninth month .... ),
28th/29th April 1918, English
Channel off Le Havre, northern
France - collision with British
steamship Tropic. She was run down
and lost on the night of the
28th/29th April;19 men lost and
seven survivors. Some sources date
her loss on the 25th.
|
Fresnel
Monge
|
BRUMAIRE
class,
16 boats in total, 4 lost -
400/550t, 13/8 knots, 1-45cm
tt/6-45cm external torpedoes, 29
crew, launched 1911-13
BRUMAIRE,
FRIMAIRE, NIVÔSE, FOUCAULT, EULER,
FRANKLIN, FARADAY, VOLTA, NEWTON,
MONTGOLFIER, BERNOUILLI, JOULE,
COULOMB, ARAGO, CURIE, LE VERRIER
Bernoulli
took part in the Allied naval action
in May 1917 which followed the
Austrian cruiser attack on the
Otranto drifter line, firing at the
escaping destroyer "Balaton" but
missing
BERNOULLI
(18th cen Swiss scientist),
13th February 1918, southern
Adriatic Sea, off Durazzo
(Durres), Albania - probably
Austrian mines. Date of loss is
approximate; sunk with all hands.
The 1919 Jane’s Fighting Ships
attributes her loss to an Austrian
U-boat on the 13th February 1918.
CURIE
(19th/20th cen Polish/French
physicists),
20th December 1914, northern
Adriatic Sea, in Pola naval base -
damaged by defences and scuttled.
Curie (Lt Dupetit-Thouars,
descendant of the Napoleonic war
admiral), was caught in the Pola
nets trying to break into the main
Austrian base. She was refloated
and recommissioned into the
Austrian navy as U.14. Returned to
France in 1918
FOUCAULT
(19th
cen physicist),
15th September 1916, central
Adriatic Sea, ten miles off
Cattaro (Kotor) - bombed by
Austrian Navy flying boats. Caught
by flying boats or seaplanes L-132
and L-135, Foucault was the first
submarine sunk at sea by aircraft.
The two aircraft landed, took the
survivors on board and waited for
a torpedo-boat to arrive.
JOULE
(19th
cen English physicist),
1st May 1915, Turkish waters, in
the Dardanelles Narrows - Turkish
mines. On the 25th April,
the first Allied submarine,
Australian AE.2, broke through to
the Sea of Marmara although she
only survived until the 30th. Next
day, and following the loss of
Saphir in mid January, Joule was
the next French boat to try and
fail. She attempted to negotiate
the ten lines of mines guarding
the final few miles to Chanak, but
detonated one or more and was lost
with all hands
|
Bernouilli
Curie
|
ARCHIMEDE
(3rd cen BC Greek mathematician
& "engineer"), 600/810t, 14/10
knots, 1-45cm tt/6-45cm external
torpedoes, 26 crew, launched 1909.
Reciprocating
steam engines for surface
propulsion
|
|
MARIOTTE,
530/630t, 14/11 knots, 4-45cm
tt/2-45cm external torpedoes, 29 crew,
1911
MARIOTTE
(17th cen physicist),
27th July 1915, Turkish waters in
the Dardanelles, off Chanak in the
Narrows - Turkish net defences and
shore batteries. By now two French
boats (Saphir and Joule) had been
lost trying to break through to the
Sea of Marmara. Setting out on the
26th, Mariotte sailed to join the
successful British E.14 now on her
third patrol in the Marmara.
Mariotte safely passed under the
lines of mines, but off Chanak was
trapped in the anti-submarine net
newly installed by the Germans.
Forced to surface, she was shelled
by the shore defences and scuttled.
One source gives the date as the
25th July. British E.7 was
stopped and sunk by the same nets in
September 1915
|
|
AMIRAL
BOURGOIS, 555/735t, 13/8knots,
4-45cm tt, 25 crew, launched 1912 |
|
CHARLES
BRUN, 355/450t, 13/7 knots,
2-45cm tt/4-45cm external torpedoes,
24 crew, launched 1910.
Experimental
boat
|
|
CLORINDE
class, 2 boats - 415/570t, 13/9
knots, 8-45cm external torpedoes, 29
crew, launched 1913
CLORINDE,
CORNÉLIE
|
Chlorinde
|
GUSTAVE
ZÉDÉ class, 2 boats, c
850/1100t, c 17/11 knots, 6-45cm
tt/2-45cm external
torpedoes/1-7.5cm/1-4.7cm, 47 crew,
launched 1913/14.
GUSTAVE
ZÉDÉ, NÉRÉIDE
Gustave
Zédé (19th cen marine
engineer), 24th August 1916,
Adriatic area - battery explosion.
Gray reports her sunk with 4 men
dead and 36 survivors. She was not
stricken until 1937, and was
presumably refloated and returned to
service. Also in other sources, Gustave
Zédé was steam-powered until
after the war.
|
Gustave Zede, believed at her launch
|
Wartime
Additions (c 19)
Note:
two were wartime losses
|
AMPHITRITE
class, 8 boats in total, 1 lost
- 415/610t, 13/9 knots, 8-45cm
external torpedoes, 29 crew, launched
1914-16
AMPHITRITE,
ASTRÉE, ARTÉMIS, ARÉTHUSE,
ATALANTE, AMARANTE, ARIANE,
ANDROMAQUE
ARIANE
(Ariadne,
from mythology),
19th June 1917, central
Mediterranean, north of Bizerta,
North Africa - torpedoed once by
German coastal minelayer UC.22
(Heino von Heimburg). Ariane was
off the entrance to the Gulf of
Bizerta undergoing sea-trials
after repairs when she was sunk.
(un - hit by two torpedoes, sank
about 1.5m north of Cape Bon, 21
casualties)
|
Amphitrite
|
BELLONE class, 3 boats,
525/790t, 14/9 knots, 8-45cm
tt/1-7.5cm gun, 38 crew, launched
1914-17
BELLONE,
GORGONE,
HERMIONE
|
Gorgone
|
DUPUY
DE LOME class, 2 boats -
830/1290t, 17/11 knots, 8-45cm
tt/2-7.5cm guns, 43 crew, launched
1915/16
DUPUY
DE LOME, SANÉ
|
Dupuy de Lome
|
DIANE
class, 2 boats, 1 lost,
635/890t, 17/11 knots, 10-45cm
tt/1-7.5cm, 43 crew, launched 1915/16
DAPHNÉ,
DIANA
DIANE
(Diana, from mythology),
11th February 1918, North
Atlantic, off La Pallice, western
France in Bay of Biscay - internal
explosion, cause unknown.
Escorting a four-masted sailing
ship, Diane went down at night
with the loss of all her crew. The
1919 Jane’s Fighting Ships places
her loss around the 10th March
1918 in the English Channel.
|
Daphne
|
ARMIDE
class, 3 boats, 460/670t, 17/11
knots, 4 or 6-45cm tt/1-4.7cm or
7.5cm, 31 crew, launched 1915-16.
AMAZONE,
ANTIGONE,
ARMIDE
Two
Greek and one Japanese boats
building in France and
requisitioned
|
Armide
|
ex-German
UB.18-class coastal submarine,
ROLAND MORILLOT (ex-German
UB.26) - 265/290t, 9/5 knots, 2-50cm
tt/1-5cm gun, 22 crew, launched 1915.
Scuttled
off Le Havre, northern France in
April 1916, refloated and
commissioned into the French Navy in
August 1917
|
|
JOESSEL/FULTON
class, 2 boats, 870/1250t, 16/11
knots, 8-45cm tt/2-7.5cm guns, c 50
crew, launched 1917/19.
FULTON,
JOESSEL
Only
Joessel was launched during the war
|
Joessel, after reconstruction
|
LAGRANGE class, 4 boats,
920/1320t, 16/11 knots, 8-45cm
tt/2-7.5cm guns, 47 crew, launched
1917-24.
LAGRANGE,
LAPLACE,
REGNAULT,
ROMAZOTTI
Only
two launched during the war
|
Lagrange
|
|
|