 Bouvines in early 1895 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Bouvines |
| Operators |  French Navy |
| Preceded by | Jemmapes class |
| Succeeded by | Henri IV |
| Cost | FF14,986,587 (Bouvines) |
| Built | 1890–1896 |
| In service | 1895–1918 |
| In commission | 1895–1913 |
| Completed | 2 |
| Scrapped | 2 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Type | Coastal-defense ship |
| Displacement | 6,798 t (6,691long tons) |
| Length | 89.65 m (294 ft 2 in) (o/a) |
| Beam | 17.86 m (58 ft 7 in) |
| Draft | 7.54 m (24.7 ft) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 2 shafts, 2triple-expansion steam engines |
| Speed | 16knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) (at trials) |
| Range | 3,900nautical miles (7,200 km; 4,500 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) |
| Complement | 333 (371 asflagship) |
| Armament |
|
| Armor |
|
TheBouvines class consisted of a pair ofironcladcoastal-defense ships built for theFrench Navy (Marine nationale) in the 1890s,Bouvines andAmiral Tréhouart. Thoroughly obsolete byWorld War I, the ships only played a minor role during the war. They were sold forscrap in 1920.
In 1887 preliminary design work began on an armored coast-defence ship intended to serve as the centerpiece of a group oftorpedo boats under the auspices ofAdmiralThéophile Aube,Minister of the Navy and Colonies, and an ardent exponent of theJeune École (Young School) of naval strategy that believed in the primacy of coastal defences andcommerce raiding. The torpedo warfare role was eventually dropped and four coast-defence ironclads, theJemmapes and theBouvines classes, were ordered in 1889.[1]
TheBouvines-class ships werehalf-sisters to theJemmapes classlaid down at the same time. They were virtually identical except that theBouvines were given aforecastle deck to improveseaworthiness and the main armament was lightened to compensate for the additional weight, as 305 mm (12 in) guns were installed rather than the 340 mm (13.4 in) guns of theJemmapes class.[2]
Bouvines andAmiral Tréhouart were 89.38 m (293 ft 3 in) long at thewaterline and 89.65 m (294 ft 2 in) longoverall. They had abeam of 17.86 m (58 ft 7 in) and adraft of 6.38 m (20 ft 11 in) forward and 7.54 m (24 ft 9 in) aft. They were only slightly heavier than theJemmapes class anddisplaced 6,798metric tons (6,691long tons), only 300 metric tons (295 long tons) more than the other ships.Bouvines had ametacentric height of 1.04 metres (3.4 ft). Once in service they proved to roll badly sobilge keels were later fitted. Their crew numbered 15 officers and 318ratings; service as a flagship added 5 more officers and 33 more ratings.[3]
TheBouvines-class ships used two inclined horizontaltriple-expansion steam engines built by Menpenti ofMarseille, one engine per shaft.Bouvines's engines were powered by 16[Note 1] d'Allest-Lagrafelwater-tube boilers and had twofunnels, butAmiral Tréhouart used the same number ofBelleville boilers instead and had only one funnel. The engines produced a total of 8,865indicated horsepower (6,611 kW) and gave a top speed of 16.05knots (29.72 km/h; 18.47 mph) on trials. The ships carried a maximum of 557 metric tons (548 long tons) of coal which allowed them to steam for 3,900nautical miles (7,200 km; 4,500 mi) at a speed of 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph).[4]
Like theJemmapes class, theBouvines-class ships carried their main armament of two 45-caliberCanon de 305 mm Modèle 1887 guns in two single-gun turrets, one each fore and aft of thesuperstructure. The guns fired 340-kilogram (750 lb) projectiles at the rate of one round per minute at amuzzle velocity of approximately 780 metres per second (2,600 ft/s).[5] The guns could be depressed to −4° andelevation to +10°.[3]
The ships'secondary armament consisted of eight 53-caliberCanon de 100 mm (3.9 in) Modèle 1892 guns, four of which were mounted in individualcasemates. The other four were carried onpivot mounts withgun shields on the shelter deck directly above the four casemated guns on the corners of the superstructure.[6] The guns fired 16-kilogram (35 lb) shells at a muzzle velocity of 730 metres per second (2,400 ft/s).[7]
Initially four 40-caliber 47 mm (1.9 in)Canon de 47 mm Modèle 1885 Hotchkiss guns were carried for defence from torpedo boats in thefighting top in themilitary mast, but this was later increased to eight, with the new guns on the superstructure.[3] They fired a 1.5-kilogram (3.3 lb) projectile at 650 metres per second (2,100 ft/s) to a maximum range of 4,000 metres (4,400 yd).[8] Initially ten 37-millimetre (1.5 in)Hotchkiss revolving cannon were positioned on the superstructure, but this was reduced to three when the additional 47 mm guns were added. Two 450-millimetre (17.7 in)torpedo tubes were mounted above the waterline, but they were removed in 1906.[3]
The armor of theBouvines-class ships weighted 2,270 tonnes (2,230 long tons). They had a complete waterlinearmor belt of steel that tapered from the maximum thickness of 464 mm (18.3 in) amidships to 250 mm (9.8 in) at the ship's ends. The belt's height was an average of 1.9 m (6.2 ft), but increased to 2.86 metres (9.4 ft) at the bow and to 2.18 metres (7.2 ft) at the stern. The ships were intended to have 40 centimetres (15.7 in) of the belt showing above the waterline, but they were overweight as completed and only 24 centimetres (9.4 in) of the belt was above the waterline. The hull above the belt was completely unarmored. The maximum thickness of the armored deck was 92 mm (3.6 in) and it was joined to the top of the armor belt. The mainturret armor was 370 mm (14.6 in) thick although thebarbettes were only 320 mm (12.6 in) thick. The plates protecting theconning tower measured 80 mm (3.1 in) in thickness.[9]
Bouvines was authorized in the Supplementary Estimates of 1889 althoughAmiral Tréhouart had been authorized in the 1889 Ordinary Naval Estimates with the name ofTréhouart, although she was renamed on 25 March 1895.[10]Bouvines was ordered on 18 December 1889.[6]
| Name | Namesake[11] | Builder[4] | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Fate[11] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amiral Tréhouart | François Thomas Tréhouart | Arsenal de Lorient | 20 October 1890[10] | 16 May 1893[10] | 29 June 1896[10] | Sold for scrap, 4 July 1920[10] |
| Bouvines | Battle of Bouvines | Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée,La Seyne-sur-Mer | 30 September 1890[4] | 23 March 1892[4] | 1 December 1895[4] | Sold for scrap, 19 June 1920[12] |
Bouvines served as aflagship for the entirety of her active service where she served both in theNorthern Squadron andChannel Flotilla in theBay of Biscay and theEnglish Channel as well as in theMediterranean Squadron. She was stricken on 1 July 1913 and was used by the Inspection Service atCherbourg between 1914 and 1917. She was condemned in 1918 and sold forscrapping in 1920.[3]
Little is known ofAmiral Tréhouart's career other than she served as asubmarine tender duringWorld War I.[2]
