The armoured cruiser Dupetit-Thouars belonged to the Gueydon ship class, which consisted of a total of 3 ships and was built from the single ship Jeanne d'Arc, but was to be smaller and cheaper and had a stronger secondary armament.
Launch and design:
Already at the beginning of the 90s of the 19th century, the first concepts for a large protected cruiser were available, which was intended for the French colonies under the name Jeanne d'Arc. In 1895, however, the naval architect Emile Bertin, Director of the Navy's Technical Department, transformed this concept into an armoured cruiser. The background for the transformation was the construction of the Amiral Charner class armoured cruisers and the orientation of the ships for the future task of disrupting the merchant ships of enemy states. It turned out, however, that this transformation was only a temporary solution and that the ship as a whole would have inadequate armament and speed.
Emile Bertin then began, shortly after the construction of the Jeanne d'Arc was decided, to design a new and improved class of armoured cruisers on the basis of this ship. However, these were to be smaller and cheaper, as it became apparent that a conversion from a protected cruiser to an armoured cruiser only made limited sense. The resulting Gueydon class was to consist of a total of 3 ships. These had a length of 137,97 meters, a width of 19,38 meters and a displacement of 9.548 tons. Compared to the Jeanne d'Arc, the ships of the Gueydon class were about 10 meters shorter and 2.000 tons lighter, thus somewhat faster.
The armament of the main guns remained at 2 x 194 mm guns of the Modèle 1896. The caliber of the secondary armament, on the other hand, was significantly increased. As the armament of the Jeanne d'Arc had already been criticized as too weak, the designers of the Gueydon class opted for a stronger secondary armament of the ships. This now consisted of 8 x 164 mm, 4 x 100 mm, 10 x 47 mm and 4 x 37 mm guns. In addition, 2 x 450 mm torpedo tubes were installed.
The armour along the belt of the ship also remained up to 150 mm, the deck had an armour of 30 to 55 mm. The turrets were armoured with a thickness between 160 and 176 mm.
Three vertical triple expansion steam engines, driven by 28 Belleville boilers and with an output of 22.000 hp, served as propulsion. This allowed the ship to reach a maximum speed of 21 knots, although the speed was initially estimated to be higher during development.
The ship was named after the French naval officer Aristide Aubert Du Petit Thouars (1760 - 1798), who distinguished himself between the French and British navies during the battle of Aboukir (1. to 3. August 1798) and also died there.
The launch of the Dupetit-Thouars took place on 5 July 1901, the commissioning on 28 August 1905.
The French naval officer Aristide Aubert Du Petit Thouars, namesake of the ship
Drawing of the Gueydon Class
History of the Dupetit-Thouars:
After the trial runs and commissioning, the Dupetit-Thouars took part in the annual manoeuvres and exercises of the French Navy.
From 17 to 18 February 1905, the ship conducted a 24-hour test to monitor and control the performance of the propulsion system under high load.
Due to her old age, the ship was assigned to the reserve in 1911. Only after the assassination of the Austro-Hungarian heir to the throne in Serbia, the political tensions in Europe were reduced and a war threatened, the ship was reactivated and assigned to the Atlantic Fleet.
Armored cruiser Dupetit-Thouars
Use in war:
When World War I broke out in Europe, the French ships of the Atlantic Fleet together with British ships served to secure the western English Channel. In particular, merchant ships were to be intercepted that wanted to bring both goods and reservists into the German Empire. A breakout of the German fleet was also to be prevented.
From May 1915 the Dupetit-Thouars were withdrawn from the English Channel and assigned to the reserve in Brest.
It was not until 1918 that the ship was reactivated and served first in February to accompany troop transports to Dakar in Senegal and then to accompany troop transports from the United States of America to France.
Whereabouts:
On 24 June 1918, the Dupetit-Thouars left the port of New York to escort 28 merchant ships to France.
400 nautical miles west of Brest, the German submarine U-62 sighted the convoy. On August 7, at nightfall, the submarine fired the first torpedo. At 20.51 o'clock this hit the Dupetit-Thouars on the port side under the front bridge, 10 seconds later a second torpedo hit under the rear bridge. The impacts killed 3 crew members.
A first assessment of the damage showed that the ship would sink, but not as fast as feared. The Dupetit-Thouars then moved away from the convoy, sent an emergency call, switched off the engines and began evacuating the crew.
50 minutes after the impact of the torpedoes the ship began to turn. Another 10 crew members lost their lives trying to launch the last lifeboat of the ship.
After 16 hours the survivors were found and rescued by 6 American destroyers.
Ship data:
| Name: |
Dupetit-Thouars |
| Country: |
France |
| Type of ship: |
Armored cruiser |
| Classe: |
Gueydon-Classe |
| Building yard: |
Arsenal de Toulon |
| Building costs: |
unknown |
| Launching: |
July 5th, 1901 |
| Commissioning: |
August 28th, 1905 |
| Whereabouts: |
Sunk by the German U-boat U-62 on August 7th, 1918 |
| Length: |
137,97 metres |
| Width: |
19,38 metres |
| Draft: |
Max. 7,67 metres |
| Displacement: |
Max. 9.367 tons |
| Crew: |
566 men |
|
Drive: |
three vertical triple expansion steam engines 28 Belleville boiler |
| Power: |
22.000 HP (16.000 kW) |
| Maximum speed: |
21 knots (39 kilometres per hour) |
|
Arming: |
2 × 194 mm guns 8 × 164 mm guns 4 × 100 mm guns 10 × 47 mm guns 4 × 37 mm guns 2 × 450 mm torpedo tubes |
| Armour: |
Belt: 80 - 150 mm |
You can find the right literature here:
French Battleships 1914–45 (New Vanguard)
French Battleships 1914–45 (New Vanguard) Paperback – January 22, 2019
This authoritative study examines the French Navy's last battleships, using detailed color plates and historical photographs, taking them from their inception before World War I, through their service in World War II including the scuttling of the French fleet at Toulon in 1943, and the service of Richelieu in the war against Japan.
On September 1, 1910, France became the last great naval power to lay down a dreadnought battleship, the Courbet. The ensuing Courbet and Bretagne-class dreadnoughts had a relatively quiet World War I, spending most of it at anchor off the entrance to the Adriatic, keeping watch over the Austro-Hungarian fleet. The constraints of the Washington Naval Treaty prevented new battleships being built until the 1930s, with the innovative Dunkerque-class and excellent Richelieu-class of battleships designed to counter new German designs.
After the fall of France in 1940, the dreadnoughts and fast battleships of the Marine Nationale had the unique experience of firing against German, Italian, British, and American targets during the war.
French Battleships of World War One
French Battleships of World War One Hardcover – June 15, 2017
When war broke out in August 1914 France had only two dreadnoughts in service, with a second pair running trials. The main body of the elite Armée Navale was made up of the eleven battleships of the Patrie and Danton classes, both of which were intermediate designs with two main gun calibers. Older ships included survivors of the notorious Flotte d'echantillons ('fleet of samples') of the 1890 program and their successors designed during the 1890s.
This book traces the development of French battleships from 1890 to 1922, and also covers the extensive modifications made to the survivors during the interwar period. It is liberally illustrated throughout with line drawings and labelled schematics, plus photographs from the extensive Caresse collection, many of which are previously unpublished.
This is the most comprehensive account of these ships published in English or French, and is destined be the standard reference for many years to come.
French Armoured Cruisers 1887–1932
French Armoured Cruisers 1887–1932 Hardcover – November 1, 2019
Of all the threats faced by the Royal Navy during the first years of the twentieth century, the one which stood out was the risk to Britain's sea lines of communication posed by France's armored cruisers. Fast, well-armed, and well-protected, these ships could have evaded any attempted blockade of the French ports and, supported by a worldwide network of overseas bases, could potentially have caused havoc on the trade routes.
The primary focus of the book is on the technical characteristics of the ships. Detailed and labeled drawings based on the official plans are provided by John Jordan, and each individual class of ship is illustrated by photographs from the extensive personal collection of Philippe Caresse. The technical section is followed by a history in two parts, covering the Great War (1914-18) and the postwar years, during which the surviving ships saw extensive deployment as "station" cruisers overseas and as training ships. This is the most comprehensive account published in English or in French and is destined to be the standard reference for many years to come.
To Crown the Waves: The Great Navies of the First World War
To Crown the Waves: The Great Navies of the First World War Hardcover – July 15, 2013
The only comparative analysis available of the great navies of World War I--each chapter is written by a recognzed expert fluent in the subject language. The work studies the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom (John Roberts), the German Kaiserliche Marine (Dr. Peter Schenk with Axel Niestlé and Dieter Thomaier) the United States Navy (Trent Hone), the French Marine Nationale (Jean Moulin), the Italian Regia Marina (Enrico Cernuschi and Vincent P. O'Hara) the Austro-Hungarian Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine (Zvonimir Freivogel), and the Imperial Russian Navy (Stephen McLaughlin) to demonstrate why the war was won, not in the trenches, but upon the waves. It explains why these seven fleets fought the way they did and why the war at sea did not develop as the admiralties and politicians of 1914 expected.
After discussing each navy's goals and circumstances and how their individual characteristics impacted the way they fought, the authors deliver a side-by-side analysis of the conflict's fleets, with each chapter covering a single navy. Parallel chapter structures assure consistent coverage of each fleet--history, training, organization, doctrine, materiel, and operations--and allow readers to easily compare information among the various navies. The book clearly demonstrates how the naval war was a collision of 19th century concepts with 20th century weapons that fostered unprecedented development within each navy and sparked the evolution of the submarine and aircraft carrier. The work is free from the national bias that infects so many other books on World War I navies. As they pioneer new ways of viewing the conflict, the authors provide insights and material that would otherwise require a massive library and mastery of multiple languages. Such a study has special relevance today as 20th-century navies struggle to adapt to 21st-century technologies.
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