 Dubourdieu offMare Island around 1890 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Preceded by | Aréthuse |
| Succeeded by | Milan |
| History | |
 France | |
| Name | Dubordieu |
| Builder | Arsenal de Cherbourg |
| Laid down | 6 September 1880 |
| Launched | 6 December 1884 |
| Completed | December 1887 |
| Commissioned | 15 June 1886 |
| Out of service | 9 May 1899 |
| Stricken | 1 December 1899 |
| Fate | Broken up, 1900 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Unprotected cruiser |
| Displacement | 3,354.7 t (3,301.7long tons)normal |
| Length | 77.3 m (253 ft 7 in)lpp |
| Beam | 14.28 m (46 ft 10 in) |
| Draft | 6.2 m (20 ft 4 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | |
| Sail plan | Full ship rig |
| Speed | 13.9knots (25.7 km/h; 16.0 mph) |
| Complement | 412 |
| Armament |
|
Dubordieu was anunprotected cruiser built for theFrench Navy in the early 1880s. Intended to serve as a long-rangecommerce raider, the ship was fitted with a sailing rig to supplement itssteam engine on long voyages, and she carried an armament of four 165 mm (6.5 in) and twelve 140 mm (5.5 in) guns. She was among the final French unprotected cruisers, thereafter being replaced by more durableprotected cruisers. The French Navy was not satisfied with the vessel, owing to her obsolescent design, since she too weak to defeat the more powerful protected cruisers and was too slow to escape from them.
The ship served as theflagship of the Pacific station after entering service in 1889, but was forced to return home the following year to correct defects in her propulsion system.Dubourdieu returned to the Pacific later in 1890 and served there for the next several years. She was recalled home by 1895, and the next year she became the flagship of the North Atlantic station, a role she filled through 1899. The ship was placed inreserve in May that year, before being converted into atraining ship; she was quickly sold toship breakers in 1900.
In the late 1870s, theFrench Navy had embarked on a program of cruiser construction based on a strategy aimed at attacking British merchant shipping in the event of war.[1] The design forDubourdieu traces its origin to discussions over the preceding French cruiser,Aréthuse in February 1878. TheMinister of the Navy,Louis Pierre Alexis Pothuau, asked theConseil des Travaux (Council of Works) for recommendations on what types of cruisers should be built in the future. He was particularly concerned with the expense of earlier, large cruisers likeTourville, the cost of which would likely preclude building them in large numbers. TheConseil made their report on 28 March, and recommended ships of around 3,000 to 3,200tonnes (3,000 to 3,100long tons), goodfreeboard, a speed of 16knots (30 km/h; 18 mph), and a cruising radius of 4,000nautical miles (7,400 km; 4,600 mi). Firepower would be considerable, consisting of either four 194 mm (7.6 in) or six 164.7 mm (6.48 in) guns and at least twelve 138.6 mm (5.46 in) guns. As the French Navy only had two vessels that met the recommended criteria, theConseil argued that more should be built.[a][3]
During discussions for the upcoming 1879 construction program, theConseil d'Amirauté (Admiralty Council) noted that the number of large cruisers, including the threeArethusé-type ships under construction, were insufficient to the fleet's needs. In addition, theArethusé type was insufficiently armed to be able to engage foreign counterparts like the BritishShah or the GermanLeipzig. The Admiralty Council called for four new cruisers suited to the task be built. The naval constructorPierre Gaston Hermann Valin, who had designed the cruiserIphigénie, prepared an improved version of that ship to meet the Navy's requirements. He lengthened thehull, which created room for a more powerful propulsion system and additional guns. In January 1880, two ships of the design were allocated to the 1881 construction program; the first, to becomeDubourdieu, and the second, was to be namedCapitaine Lucas. The following year, a third vessel of theclass was added to the budget, though this vessel was never named.[4]
During construction,Louis-Émile Bertin submitted a proposal for a new steel-hulled cruiser with an armor deck, a type that would become known as theprotected cruiser. TheConseil des Traveaux rejected his proposal on 4 August 1881, but the naval minister,Georges Charles Cloué, overruled their decision shortly thereafter. He ordered the second and thirdDubourdieu-class cruisers to be suspended and Bertin's ship to be built in their place.[5]Dubourdieu and the three vessels of theArethusé type were the final generation of unprotected cruisers built in France, that type thereafter being replaced by protected cruisers in the early 1880s, beginning with Bertin's ship, which becameSfax.[1]
In addition to being the last unprotected cruiser of the French fleet,Dubourdieu was to be the last wooden-hulled cruiser to be built in France.[1] France was among the last countries to build wooden-hulled cruisers, along with the United States; the French Navy preferred the use of wood, both because it was cheaper than steel, and it also allowed steel production to be concentrated on theironclad warships then being built.[6] The ship was poorly regarded as a result of her dated design; she was significantly weaker than the new protected cruisers that began to enter service in foreign navies by the time she was completed. She was also too slow to escape more powerful vessels. AdmiralJules François Émile Krantz is believed to have remarked thatDubourdieu was "nothing more than nice accommodations."[1]
Dubourdieu was 73.97 m (242 ft 8 in)long at the waterline and 77.3 m (253 ft 7 in)long between perpendiculars, with abeam of 14.28 m (46 ft 10 in) and an averagedraft of 6.2 m (20 ft 4 in). Aft, her draft increased to 6.97 m (22 ft 10 in). Shedisplaced 3,354.7 t (3,301.7 long tons)normally.[5] Her hull was constructed with wood; she had aclipperbow and an overhangingstern. The ship had no armor protection.[7] Her crew consisted of 422 officers and enlisted men.[5]
The ship was propelled by a single horizontal, 3-cylindercompound steam engine that drove ascrew propeller. Steam was provided by twelve coal-burningfire-tube boilers that were ducted into a singlefunnel locatedamidships. Coal storage amounted to 400 t (390 long tons). The power plant was rated to produce 3,150indicated horsepower (2,350 kW) for a top speed of 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph), but on speed trials, she reached only 13.91 knots (25.76 km/h; 16.01 mph). At a cruising speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph),Dubourdieu could steam for 4,780 nautical miles (8,850 km; 5,500 mi). The ship's engines proved to be troublesome in service, a common problem with French cruisers of the period. To supplement her steam engines, she was fitted with a three-mastedfull ship rig.[5][7]
The ship was armed with amain battery of four 164.7 mm (6.48 in) M1881 28-caliber guns that were placed insponsons on the upper deck, two per side. These were supported by asecondary battery of twelve 138.6 mm (5.46 in) M1881 30-caliber guns, ten of which were placed in a central gun battery on the main deck. The remaining two 138.6 mm guns were located aft. For close-range defense againsttorpedo boats, she carried a tertiary battery of a single 47 mm (1.9 in) gun and ten 37 mm (1 in)Hotchkiss revolver cannon.Dubourdieu was also fitted with two 350 mm (13.8 in)torpedo tubes in above-water mounts, one on eachbroadside. The ship carried a pair of 65 mm (2.6 in)field guns that could be sent ashore with alanding party.[5][7]
Dubourdieu was built at theArsenal de Cherbourg; she was ordered on 24 December 1879 and herkeel waslaid down on 6 September 1880. She waslaunched on 6 December 1884. Delays with the design and manufacturing of the steam engines slowed work on the ship, and she was finally completed in 1886, beingcommissioned forsea trials on 15 June. After conducting her full-power trials on 9 September, she was placed in reserve. Further trials were carried out, beginning on 6 June 1887, and after defects were discovered during a test run on 16 July, she was placed in the 3rd category of reserve for alterations on 10 August. She carried out further trials and was moved to the 2nd category of reserve on 22 December, at which point the ship was pronounced complete.[5][6] At some point during the trials period,Dubourdieu received additional alterations, including the installation of admiral's quarters to allow the vessel to serve as aflagship.[1]
On 18 November 1889,Dubourdieu was recommissioned to deploy to the Pacific station, replacing the cruiserDuquesne as the flagship there. The ship's arrival was delayed when engine damage forced her to return toCherbourg for repairs on 15 February 1890. She departed again on 10 April.[5] The ship sailed south through the Atlantic, roundedCape Horn, and made calls in a series of ports along the way, including in Chile, Peru, and theHawaiian Kingdom, before reachingTahiti inFrench Polynesia.[1] After arriving in the Pacific, she operated with the unprotected cruisersVolta andChamplain.[8] From 30 June to 23 July 1891, the ship wasdry docked at theMare Island Naval Shipyard for repairs to herstern.[4] During the early 1890s, the ships were primarily responsible for patrolling theFrench colonies in the Pacific. She remained in the area into 1893; by that time, the unit also consisted of the unprotected cruisersDuguay-Trouin andDuchaffault.[9] Later that year,Dubourdieu was recalled to France, where she was placed in reserve through 1895.[5]
After recommissioning in 1896,Dubourdieu was assigned to the North American station to serve as its flagship, along with the unprotected cruiserRoland.[10] The following year,Roland was replaced by the unprotected cruiserRigault de Genouilly, withDubourdieu still the flagship.[11] In May that year,Dubourdieu steamed to Cherbourg to undergo an overhaul and receive a new crew before resuming her role as the station flagship.[12]
She remained on the station into 1899, by which time she had been joined by the protected cruiserSfax.[13] By that time,Dubourdieu flew the flag of Rear Admiral Escande. She arrived inBrest on 16 April, where Escande hauled down his flag. Four days later, the ship moved toLorient,[14] where she was laterpaid off intoreserve on 9 May. She was struck from thenaval register on 1 December that year and was briefly used as a stationarytraining ship.Dubourdieu was soon sold forscrap on 19 May 1900 to M. Degoul at Lorient andbroken up.[5][7]
