 Steam corvetteDupleix | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Dupleix |
| Namesake | Joseph François Dupleix |
| Ordered | 1 October 1856 |
| Builder | Cherbourg Dockyard |
| Laid down | 9 October 1856 |
| Launched | 28 March 1861 |
| Commissioned | 13 June 1861 |
| Decommissioned | 1887 |
| Stricken | 2 July 1887 |
| Fate | Scrapped |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Cosmao-classcorvette |
| Displacement | 1,773tonnes (1,745long tons) |
| Length | 66.34 metres (217 ft 8 in) |
| Beam | 11.40 m (37 ft 5 in) |
| Draught | 5.61 m (18 ft 5 in) |
| Propulsion | Steamtrunk engine, 986 ihp (735 kW) |
| Speed | 11.66knots (21.59 km/h; 13.42 mph) |
| Complement | 191 |
| Armament | 10 × 160 mm (6.3 in) guns |
Dupleix was a wooden-hulled screwcorvette of theCosmao class built for theFrench Navy. She was the first French vessel named after the 18th century governor ofPondichéry and governor general of the French possessions in India,MarquessJoseph François Dupleix.Laid down in 1856 atCherbourg Dockyard andcommissioned in 1861,Dupleix was assigned to France's Far East colonies. There, the vessel took part in theBoshin War andFranco-Prussian War. The ship returned to France and performed fishery patrols off Iceland until being taken out of service in 1887. The ship wasscrapped in 1890.
In 1855 theMinister of Marine formed a commission to reorganize the French fleet. The commission created new classifications for ship types based on engine capability and as a result, ships formerly rated ascorvettes lost that designation. This opened the need for new corvettes with increased armament and size.Dupleix and theCosmao class were the result of the new requirements.Dupleix's overall design was by Louis-François Octave Vésignié, while the vessel's machinery was designed by Victorin Sabattier.Dupleix had a woodenhull that measured 66.34 metres (217 ft 8 in) long and 63.80 m (209 ft 4 in) at thewaterline. The vessel had a maximumbeam of 11.40 m (37 ft 5 in) and a maxdraught of 5.61 m (18 ft 5 in). The vessel had adisplacement of 1,773tonnes (1,745long tons) and was crewed by 191 sailors.[1]
The corvette was propelled by a singlescrew[2] turned by a 400nominal horsepower two-cylindertrunk engine[1] powered by steam fromoval boilers.[2] Duringtrials,Dupleix achieved 986indicated horsepower (735 kW). The ship carried 340 t (330 long tons; 370 short tons) of coal for fuel and had a maximum speed of 11.66knots (21.59 km/h; 13.42 mph).[1] The vessels were also equipped with sails for propulsion. As built,Dupleix mounted ten 16 cm (6.3 in) M1860 rifles.[1] These were later removed and replaced by twelve 14 cm (5.5 in) M1870 rifles.[2][a]
TheFrench Navy placed an order for the ship based on Vésignié's design on 1 October 1856. The ship was built at theCherboug Dockyard under the supervision of Vésignié, Nathaniel Villaret and Adrien Joyeux. Thekeel waslaid down on 9 October 1856 and the vessel waslaunched on 28 March 1861. The machinery was ordered fromIndret in March 1858 and installation was completed in December 1861.Dupleix, named for the 18th century governor ofPondichéry and governor general of the French possessions in India,MarquessJoseph François Dupleix, wascommissioned on 13 June 1861.[1]
After her commissioning,Dupleix was sent to theChinese Sea under Vice-Admiral Jaures. She arrived inSaigon on 25 August 1862, and made short stops inRyukyu Islands and the port ofHakodate on the island ofHokkaidō, before arriving inYokohama.
During thebombardment of Shimonoseki (5 September 1864),Dupleix was second in the line of corvettes, between the BritishTartar and the DutchMetallkruz. She fired 411 shots and received 22 cannonballs (seven in the hull, four under thewaterline, and 11 in the sails). She had two killed and eight wounded. On 28 December 1864,Dupleix sailed back to France, where she wasdecommissioned on 25 June 1865. She was re-commissioned in Cherbourg in 1867, and sent back to serve in the "Far-East Naval Division", under Counter-AdmiralGustave Ohier. She arrived in Yokohama in February 1868, and was immediately involved in the events of theJapanese Revolution.
On 8 March 1868, askiff sent toSakai was attacked bysamurai retainers of thedaimyō ofTosa; twelve sailors were killed. The captain,Abel-Nicolas Bergasse du Petit-Thouars, protested so strongly that the culprits were arrested, and 20 of them were sentenced to death byseppuku. However, the execution style was so shocking to the French that after 11 were carried out, the French captain requested grace for the survivors. This allowed the French and Japanese parties to reconcile, and is now known as the "Sakai incident", orSakai Jiken (堺事件).
On 16 April 1868,Dupleix was the first Western ship to salute the Japanese emperor atFort Tempozan. In October of the same year,Dupleix was sent to Hokkaidō. She rescued the British corvetteHMS Rattler, which was shipwrecked atRomanzoff Bay, inLa Pérouse Strait.
Relieved by theavisoCoëtlogon,Dupleix was stationed in the northern port of Hakodate during theBattle of Hakodate, in order to guarantee French interests there. She brought back CaptainJules Brunet and his companions from Hakodate to Yokohama after the fall of theRepublic of Ezo.
From July 1870 to February 1871,Dupleix blockaded the German frigateHertha inNagasaki as part of operations during theFranco-Prussian War. In March,Dupleix sailed back toCherbourg to be decommissioned. From 1876 to 1886,Dupleix was re-armed every year from March to October to monitor fishery operations inIceland. She was struck from the French naval list on 2 July 1887 at Cherbourg. The vessel wasbroken up in 1890.[1]