Английская Википедия:Dévastation-class ironclad
Шаблон:Use shortened footnotes Шаблон:Distinguish
Шаблон:Infobox ship imageШаблон:Infobox ship class overviewШаблон:Infobox ship characteristicsThe Dévastation-class ironclads were a class of ironclad battleships that were laid down as part of the 1872 programme. They were a development of the 1876 ironclad Шаблон:Ship. The class consisted of Dévastation and Courbet.
Design
The Dévastation-class ironclads were authorized under the naval construction Program of 1872, which began with the ironclad Шаблон:Ship that year. Shortly thereafter, Italy began work on the very large Шаблон:Sclasss in the early 1870s, but the French initially ignored the development and instead chose to base the design for its next ironclad on that of Redoutable. The new ship was to be enlarged significantly to incorporate a more powerful armament.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn The design for the new ships was prepared in early 1875 by Louis de Bussy, who had also designed Redoutable; he originally intended to arm the new ship with four Шаблон:Cvt guns and two Шаблон:Cvt guns, the former in a central casemate and the latter in open barbettes above the casemate.Шаблон:Sfn
The Шаблон:Lang (Board of Construction) examined his initial proposal on 16 March 1875, and made several requests for changes. These included changes to the arrangement of some of the guns, an extension of the armor deck for the entire length of the ship, and the addition of a second propeller. De Bussy submitted his revised design on 4 January 1876; he had been forced to reduce the thickness of the belt armor from Шаблон:Cvt to Шаблон:Cvt to offset the weight of the longer armor deck.Шаблон:Sfn
The naval minister, Léon Martin Fourichon, approved the design on 11 May, and authorized the construction of two ships, Dévastation and Foudroyant, which was subsequently renamed Courbet in 1885, which were the largest central battery ships ever built by any navy. The navy continued to make changes to the design; the 320 mm guns were replaced with Шаблон:Cvt weapons, and two more 274.4 mm guns were added as chase weapons.Шаблон:Sfn They are sometimes called the Courbet class, as she had begun construction first, though Dévastation was launched and completed earlier.Шаблон:Sfn
Characteristics and machinery
The ships of the Dévastation class were Шаблон:Cvt long between perpendiculars, Шаблон:Cvt long at the waterline, and Шаблон:Cvt long overall. They had a beam of Шаблон:Cvt and a draft of Шаблон:Cvt. They displaced Шаблон:Cvt. As was standard for French capital ships of the period, they had a pronounced ram bow and tumblehome sides. Their hulls were of mixed iron and steel construction. They were fitted with three pole masts equipped with spotting tops for their main battery guns. Steering was controlled with a single rudder, though the ships proved to be difficult to maneuver. The crew varied between 689 and 721 officers and enlisted men.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn
Their propulsion machinery consisted of two compound steam engines of the Woolf pattern, with steam provided by twelve coal-burning fire-tube boilers, which were ducted into a pair of funnels placed side-by-side amidships. Their engines were rated to produce Шаблон:Convert for a top speed of Шаблон:Cvt. On her initial trials in 1882, Dévastation reached Шаблон:Cvt for Шаблон:Convert. The ships carried Шаблон:Cvt of coal, which provided a cruising radius of Шаблон:Convert at an economical speed of Шаблон:Convert. To supplement the steam engines, Dévastation was equipped with a three-masted full-ship rig, though this was quickly reduced to a barque rig. Courbet, meanwhile, received a three-masted schooner rig.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn
Armament and armor
The ships' main battery consisted of four 340 mm guns mounted in a central, armored casemate. Two guns could fire ahead on a limited arc and two could fire astern. The guns carried aboard Dévastation were 18-caliber M1875 models, while Courbet received longer 21-caliber M1881 variants. These were supported by a secondary battery four 274.4 mm guns; DévastationШаблон:'s were 18-caliber M1870 weapons and CourbetШаблон:'s were slightly longer 19.75-caliber M1875 pieces. One was in the bow under the forecastle, two were in open barbette mounts on the upper deck amidships, and the fourth was on the upper deck at the stern.Шаблон:Sfn
They were also armed with a tertiary battery of six Шаблон:Cvt guns, 21-caliber M1870M type aboard Dévastation and 30-caliber M1881 breech-loading guns aboard Courbet. A pair was carried forward of the main battery, one gun per broadside, and the remaining four were astern, two per broadside. For defense against torpedo boats, Dévastation carried eight Шаблон:Cvt 1-pounder Hotchkiss revolver cannon, all in individual mounts, while Courbet was completed with eighteen of the guns. Courbet also carried a pair of Шаблон:Cvt landing guns for use ashore, and a Шаблон:Cvt revolver cannon for one of her steam pinnaces. Their armament was rounded out with four Шаблон:Cvt torpedo tubes in above-water launchers for Dévastation and five of the tubes for Courbet. The former's tubes were above water, two per broadside, while Courbet carried two of hers in the bow, one on each broadside, and the fifth in the stern, all above water.Шаблон:Sfn
The ships were protected with wrought iron armor; their belt extended for the entire length of the hull, and from Шаблон:Cvt below the waterline to Шаблон:Cvt above. Amidships, it was Шаблон:Cvt thick, where it protected the ship's ammunition magazines and propulsion machinery spaces, Forward, it was reduced to Шаблон:Cvt, and aft, it was reduced to Шаблон:Cvt. The armored casemate for the main battery were Шаблон:Cvt thick. On either end of the battery, an armor deck protected the ship's internal spaces; it was Шаблон:Cvt thick layered on Шаблон:Cvt deck plating. It was connected to the upper edge of the armor belt.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn
Modifications
Both ships were modernized several times throughout their careers. Dévastation had her main battery guns replaced with four Шаблон:Cvt 20-caliber M1875–81 guns, and an additional four 47 mm revolver cannon and two 37 mm revolvers were added. Her armament was altered again in 1896, a pair of Шаблон:Cvt quick-firing guns were added, the 47 mm revolvers were replaced with six single-barrel 47 mm quick-firing guns, and the number of 37 mm revolver cannon was increased to twenty. In 1901, Dévastation had a new, armored conning tower installed in place of the original light structure. The new tower had Шаблон:Cvt of armor plate on the sides. At the same time, her propulsion system was replaced with new vertical triple-expansion steam engines and twelve Belleville boilers of the water-tube type. Work on the ship was finished in 1902.Шаблон:Sfn
In 1894, CourbetШаблон:'s light armament was revised to include eighteen Шаблон:Cvt guns and seven 37 mm revolver cannon. More extensive work was carried out in 1897, when the ship received a new, larger conning tower with 80 mm of armor plate. The light guns that had been present in her upper fighting tops were removed, as were the two forward torpedo tubes. In addition, the gun shields fitted to the barbette guns were replaced with vertical armor plates on the front. The ship also received new fire-tube boilers to replace the worn-out boilers. The Navy had intended to completely rearm the ship, but a change in naval ministers led to a shift in priorities, so the alterations to the main and secondary batteries were deferred. Additional work was carried out between September 1899 and December 1900. Her existing masts and bowsprit were removed, and two larger military masts with two fighting tops apiece were installed in their place. Her 270 mm guns were removed; the bow position received a 138.6 mm 30-caliber M1881/84 gun, while the three barbette positions had 240 mm 40-caliber M1893 guns. Her light battery was revised again slightly, to sixteen of the 47 mm guns, eight 37 mm revolvers, and two 37 mm guns.Шаблон:Sfn
Ships
Courbet was originally named Foudroyant ("Lightning"), but on 25 June 1885, she was renamed to honor Admiral Amédée Courbet,Шаблон:Sfn who had died of cholera after leading French naval forces through much of the Sino-French War.Шаблон:Sfn
| Name | BuilderШаблон:Sfn | AuthorizedШаблон:Sfn | Laid downШаблон:Sfn | LaunchedШаблон:Sfn | CompletedШаблон:Sfn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Шаблон:Ship | Arsenal de Lorient | 1876 | 20 December 1875 | 19 August 1879 | 15 July 1882 |
| Шаблон:Ship | Arsenal de Toulon | 1875 | 19 July 1875 | 27 April 1882 | 20 October 1886 |
| N | None | 1876 | Re-ordered as Шаблон:Ship | ||
Service history
Footnotes
Notes
Citations
References
Further reading
Шаблон:Dévastation class ironclads Шаблон:French ironclads
