 Condorcet underway | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Condorcet |
| Namesake | Marquis de Condorcet |
| Builder | Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire,Saint-Nazaire |
| Laid down | 23 August 1907 |
| Launched | 20 April 1909 |
| Commissioned | 25 July 1911 |
| Reclassified | astraining ship, 1925 |
| Stricken | 1931 |
| Fate |
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| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Danton-classsemi-dreadnought battleship |
| Displacement | 18,754 t (18,458long tons) (normal) |
| Length | 146.6 m (481 ft) (o/a) |
| Beam | 25.8 m (84 ft 8 in) |
| Draft | 8.44 m (27 ft 8 in) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion | 4shafts; 4steam turbines |
| Speed | 19.25knots (35.7 km/h; 22.2 mph) |
| Complement | 25 officers and 831 enlisted men |
| Armament |
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| Armor |
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Condorcet was one of the sixDanton-classsemi-dreadnoughtbattleships built for theFrench Navy in the early 1900s. WhenWorld War I began in August 1914, she unsuccessfully searched for the GermanbattlecruiserSMS Goeben and thelight cruiserSMS Breslau in the Western and Central Mediterranean. Later that month, the ship participated in theBattle of Antivari in theAdriatic Sea and helped to sink anAustro-Hungarianprotected cruiser.Condorcet spent most of the rest of the war blockading theStraits of Otranto and theDardanelles to keep German, Austro-Hungarian and Turkish warships bottled up.
After the war, she was modernized in 1923–1925 and subsequently became atraining ship. In 1931, the ship was converted into anaccommodationhulk.Condorcet was captured intact when the Germans occupiedVichy France in November 1942 and was used by them to house sailors of their navy (Kriegsmarine). She was badly damaged by Allied bombing in 1944, but was laterraised andscrapped by 1949.
Although theDanton-class battleships were a significant improvement from the precedingLiberté class, they were outclassed by the advent of thedreadnought well before they were completed. This, combined with other poor traits, including the great weight in coal they had to carry, made them unsuccessful ships overall, though their numerous rapid-firing guns were of some use in the Mediterranean.[1]
Condorcet was 146.6 meters (481 ft 0 in)long overall and had abeam of 25.8 m (84 ft 8 in) and a full-loaddraft of 9.2 m (30 ft 2 in). She displaced 19,736 metric tons (19,424 long tons) atdeep load and had a crew of 681 officers and enlisted men. The ship was powered by fourParsonssteam turbines using steam generated by twenty-sixNiclausse boilers. The turbines were rated at 22,500shaft horsepower (16,800 kW) and provided a top speed of around 19knots (35 km/h; 22 mph).[1]Condorcet reached a top speed of 19.7knots (36.5 km/h; 22.7 mph) on hersea trials.[2] She carried a maximum of 2,027 tonnes (1,995 long tons) of coal which allowed her to steam for 3,370 miles (2,930 nmi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[1]
Condorcet's main battery consisted of four305mm/45 Modèle 1906 guns mounted in two twingun turrets, one forward and one aft. Thesecondary battery consisted of twelve240mm/50 Modèle 1902 guns in twin turrets, three on each side of the ship. A number of smaller guns were carried for defense againsttorpedo boats. These included sixteen 75 mm (3.0 in) L/65 guns and ten47-millimetre (1.9 in)Hotchkiss guns. The ship was also armed with two submerged 450 mm (17.7 in)torpedo tubes. The ship'smain belt was 270 mm (10.6 in) thick and the main battery was protected by up to 300 mm (11.8 in) of armor. Theconning tower also had 300 mm thick sides.[1]
During the war, 75 mm anti-aircraft guns were installed on the roofs of the ship's two forward 240 mm gun turrets.[3] During 1918, the mainmast was shortened to allow the ship to fly a captivekite balloon and the elevation of the 240 mm guns was increased which extended their range to 18,000 meters (20,000 yd).[1]
Construction ofCondorcet was begun on 26 December 1906[2] byAteliers et Chantiers de la Loire inSaint-Nazaire and the ship waslaid down on 23 August 1907. She waslaunched on 20 April 1909 and was completed on 25 July 1911.[4]Condorcet was initially assigned to the 1st Division of the 1st Squadron (escadre) of the Mediterranean Fleet when she was commissioned. The ship participated in combined fleet maneuvers betweenProvence andTunisia in May–June 1913[5] and the subsequentnaval review conducted by thePresident of France,Raymond Poincaré on 7 June 1913.[3] Afterwards,Condorcet joined her squadron in its tour of the Eastern Mediterranean in October–December 1913 and participated in the grand fleet exercise in the Mediterranean in May 1914.[5]
At the beginning of the war, the ship, together with hersisterVergniaud and the dreadnoughtCourbet, unsuccessfully searched for the German battlecruiserGoeben and the light cruiserBreslau in theBalearic Islands. On 9 August,Condorcet cruised theStrait of Sicily in an attempt to prevent the German ships from breaking out to the West.[6] On 16 August 1914 the combinedAnglo-French Fleet under AdmiralAuguste Boué de Lapeyrère, includingCondorcet, made a sweep of the Adriatic Sea. The Allied ships encountered the Austro-Hungarian cruiserSMS Zenta, escorted by thedestroyerSMS Ulan, blockading the coast ofMontenegro. There were too many ships forZenta to escape, so she remained behind to allowUlan to get away and was sunk by gunfire during the Battle of Antivari off the coast ofBar, Montenegro.Condorcet subsequently participated in a number of raids into the Adriatic later in the year and patrolled theIonian Islands. From December 1914 to 1916, the ship participated in the distant blockade of the Straits of Otranto while based inCorfu.[2] On 1 December 1916,Condorcet was inAthens and contributed troops to theAllied attempt to ensure Greek acquiescence toAllied operations in Macedonia.[7] Shortly afterwards, she was transferred toMudros to preventGoeben from breaking out into the Mediterranean and remained there until September 1917. The ship was transferred to the 2nd Division of the 1st Squadron in May 1918 and returned to Mudros where she remained for the rest of the war.[2]
From 6 December 1918 to 2 March 1919,Condorcet represented France in the Allied squadron inFiume that supervised the settlement of theYugoslav question. Afterwards, the ship was assigned to the Channel Division of the French Navy. She was modernized in 1923–24[7] to improve her underwater protection[1] and her four aft 75 mm guns were removed. Together with her sistersDiderot andVoltaire, she was assigned to the Training Division at Toulon.Condorcet housed the torpedo and electrical schools and had a torpedo tube fitted on the port side of herquarterdeck. She was partially disarmed in 1931 and converted into an accommodation hulk; by 1939 her propellers had been removed.[7] The famous underwater explorerJacques Cousteau begandiving while stationed aboard the ship in 1936.[8]
In April 1941, the ship was towed to sea to evaluate the propellant used by the battleshipRichelieu during theBattle of Dakar on 24 September 1940. One 38-centimetre (15 in) gun had an explosion in the breech and the propellant for the shell was thought to be the cause. A number of shots were successfully fired fromCondorcet's aft turret by remote control that exonerated the propellant. The following July, the ship was modified to house the signal, radio and electrician's schools. Berthing areas were installed in the bases of four funnels, which had been removed previously, and the latest radio equipment was installed for the students to train on. On 10 September 1941,[9]Condorcet was accidentally rammed by thesubmarineLe Glorieux as she was leavingdrydock. The impact punctured the ship's hull and flooded one compartment which requiredCondorcet to be drydocked for repairs. The ship was captured intact by the Germans when they occupied Vichy France on 27 November 1942. Unlike the bulk of theFrench Fleet in Toulon,Condorcet was notscuttled because she had trainees aboard.[7] Used by the Germans as a barracks ship, she was badly damaged byAllied aircraft in August 1944 and scuttled that same month by the Germans.[1]
Some of her 240 mm guns were used by the Germans in a coastal battery on the north bank of the Gironde estuary on the Bay of Biscay in 1944.[10]
The ship was salvaged in September 1945 and listed for sale on 14 December.Condorcet's breaking up was completed about 1949.[7]
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in September 1941 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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