Algérie (ship)
 The Algérie
information in the table from Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers , unless otherwise stated |
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The Algérie ( French for " Algeria ") was a French heavy cruiser that was launched as a single ship in Brest on May 21, 1932. The ship was the seventh heavy cruiser in the French Navy . It was designed with improved armor protection compared to its predecessor, also as an answer to the heavy cruisers of the Italian Zara class . During the Second World War she was used in the Atlantic and Mediterranean until France's surrender in 1940 , mainly for hunting down German trade troublemakers and as escort . In 1942 she was sunk by her crew in Toulon .
Design history
After the first French design for a heavy cruiser, the Duquesne class , had almost completely dispensed with armor protection in favor of high speed, the engine power was reduced in the following design ( Suffren class ) and the armor was reinforced. Improved construction techniques and a more advantageous interpretation of the Washington contractual terms resulted in savings in the standard displacement of the third and fourth ships of the class ( Foch and Dupleix ) , which benefited a further improvement in armor protection. This development was continued at the Algérie .
One reason for this was that in the period after the First World War the development of shipbuilding produced large and fast destroyers with gun calibers between 12 cm and 13 cm. In addition, the Italian Navy built fast cruisers with 15.2 cm guns ( Condottiere type ). While protection against 20 cm artillery was considered impossible by all navies under the terms of the contract, at least partially effective armor against guns with a caliber of up to 15 cm was possible. It was also seen as important, as its shells would cause significantly more damage to unarmored hulls than the destroyer guns of the First World War with calibers between 8.8 cm and 10.5 cm.
In addition, the existing battleships became visibly obsolete in the late 1920s . This was particularly true of the French and Italian navies. The arms race of the naval powers focused on heavy cruisers, some of which were viewed as the new main combat ships.
The French navy's first considerations for a successor to the Dupleix were based on an incremental improvement in armor protection (draft C4). The aim was that the side armor should offer protection against 15.5 cm shells at combat ranges over 15 km, the top armor at combat ranges below 20 km. However, it was unclear where the weight percentage needed for this should come from. In addition, the internal armored box of the Dupleix and Foch , unlike the usual side armor, did not protect the ships 'waterline, which made it much more likely that the ships' ability to swim would be impaired by shell hits. The French Navy therefore decided on a completely new design. This should also represent an answer to the heavily armored ships of the Italian Zara class .
Reducing the Dupleix drive system from three shafts with 90,000 HP to two shafts with 84,000 HP alone would have resulted in a weight saving of only 150 t . When the Algérie was designed, however, reliable drive systems were available that worked at higher steam pressures, which allowed weight savings without loss of power. However, there were concerns about loading the waves with 42,000 hp design power, especially since the French Navy allowed the machines to be forced. With a two-shaft arrangement, a maximum power load of 50,000 hp per shaft was to be expected. Against a repetition of the three-wave arrangement of the Suffren class spoke that the medium wave made the internal arrangement more complicated. Therefore, despite the greater space and weight requirements, a return was made to a propulsion system with four shafts, which was 430 t lighter than that of the Dupleix and almost 940 t lighter than that of the Duquesne class due to the lower power and the more modern design .
The waiver of a raised forecastle saved a further 80 t, but at the expense of a somewhat lower seaworthiness . The alternating arrangement of boiler rooms and engine rooms was also dispensed with, boiler rooms and engine rooms were each grouped. This shortened the engine rooms and thus the area to be protected by 7.5 m. The chosen arrangement was more susceptible to combat damage, but due to the greatly improved protection, this appeared justifiable. Ultimately, the conventional armored belt of the Algérie was less high than the internal armored box of the Foch and Dupleix , which saved another 370 t.
These measures enabled the tank weight to be increased by 482 t compared to the Dupleix , of which 224 t were used for protecting the main artillery and 258 t for hull armor.
The order for the Algérie was placed in August 1930 at the Brest naval shipyard, where the keel was laid on March 13, 1931 .
technology
The Algérie was 186.2 m over all and 180 m between the perpendiculars , 20 m wide and had a draft of 6.45 m at normal displacement. As with all heavy cruisers of the French Navy, the standard displacement was given as 10,060 t . The normal displacement was 10,950 t, the maximum displacement was 13,677 t.
The fuselage was designed in longitudinal frame construction. Side armor and the side bulkheads along the propulsion system and the ammunition chambers added to the strength of the hull. In contrast to the previous classes of heavy cruisers, the Algérie had no problems in terms of strength.
The Algérie was the first large French warship to be welded on a large scale . This affected the partition walls, but also parts of the load-bearing elements as well as the ship's hull and the upper deck. The armor and the most important parts of the load-bearing elements were still riveted . Partitions were made of duralumin for weight reasons.
The hull of the ship closed off at the top with a smooth deck . The tumblehome of the ship's sides was unusual, ie the hull became narrower towards the top. This hull shape may have been chosen to maximize the width of the underwater protection (see below).
The main turrets were set up in pairs in front and aft. A protective deck extended lengthways between the towers . The command tower, a single chimney, a headlight tower and the main mast directly in front of the rear gun turrets were placed on top of this - from front to aft.
drive
The drive consisted of five oil-fired steam boilers, which fed four sets of geared turbines , which in turn worked on four screws with a diameter of 3.6 m. The system was designed for an output of 84,000 hp and a speed of 31 knots . During a test drive on February 2, 1934, the Algérie achieved a speed of 32.9 knots with 93,230 hp; The source does not mention water displacement or other conditions during this trip.
The boilers were narrow-tube water boilers built by Indret with superheaters that worked with a steam temperature of 325 ° C and a pressure of 27 bar . They stood in three boiler rooms arranged one behind the other. The two front rooms each accommodated two boilers next to each other, in the third boiler room there was a somewhat larger boiler (heating area 1,515 m² compared to 885 m²). There was also a smaller auxiliary boiler that supplied steam for winches, heating, etc. The exhausts of all the boilers were put together in a chimney.
The two engine rooms were connected behind the boiler rooms. In each there were two turbine sets, the front engine room housed the turbines for the outer shafts. Each turbine set consisted of a high, medium and low pressure stage that acted on a simple reduction gear. The high and medium pressure stages were impulse turbines of the Rateau -Bretagne type . The low-pressure stage was a reaction turbine from Parsonstyp in which the stage was integrated reversing. Each turbine set had its own condensers and lubricant pumps and could work autonomously.
3,190 t of fuel could be carried. This should achieve a range of 4,000 nautical miles at 27 kn and 8,000 nautical miles at 15 kn.
While under way, the ship received the electrical energy from four turbo generators . Two stood on the lower deck between the forward towers, the other two in the forward engine room. Each of the generators had an output of 300 kilowatts . In the port, d. H. if no steam from the propulsion system was available, two diesel generators, each with an output of 100 kW, were used for the power supply. They were behind the chimney in the superstructure.
The Algérie had an oar with an area of 24.8 m².
Armament
Guns
The Algérie was like all their predecessors eight 20.3-cm guns Modèle 1924 with a caliber length of L / 50 in four twin towers as the main armament. The towers essentially corresponded to those of the previous classes. Minor changes were necessary because of the higher weight caused by the armor, which is why they were given the new designation Modèle in 1931 .
There were three types of armor-piercing shells and two types of HE shells with weights between 119 kg and 134 kg. At muzzle velocities between 820 m / s and 850 m / s and an increase of 45 °, the maximum range was between 28 km and 31.4 km, depending on the type of shell.
As heavy air defense and to combat light surface targets, the ship received twelve 10 cm L / 45 guns Modèle 1930 in six double mounts Modèle 1931 . These were installed on both sides of the ship. The mount had a 5 mm thick protective shield. The gun barrels had a common barrel cradle and could be raised up to a maximum of 80 °. The guns fired cartridge ammunition (cartridge weight 22 kg to 24 kg) and were loaded with a spring-operated rammer, which allowed a rate of fire of 10 rounds per barrel per minute.
A 13.5 kg high explosive grenade ("OEA - Obus Explosif en Acier"; muzzle velocity 780 m / s) and a 15 kg armor-piercing grenade were available ("OPf - Obus de Perforation"; muzzle velocity 765 m / s), also a light grenade ("OEcl - Obus Eclairant"). The high-explosive grenade was used for air defense with a time fuse. The maximum firing range was 15.8 km, the maximum height of fire for air defense was 10 km.
With this gun, the French Navy introduced the third heavy anti-aircraft caliber into its cruiser fleet after the 7.5 cm gun and the 9 cm gun.
Originally, the Algérie was to receive the new 37 mm automatic anti-aircraft gun, which was never fully developed. Therefore, four of the usual semi-automatic 37 mm L / 50 cannons were installed: two each on the foredeck and two on the stern. In addition, she received 16 13.2 mm Hotchkiss machine guns in newly developed Modèle 1930 four- pack mounts at the four corners of the protective deck.
Torpedoes
The torpedo armament corresponded to that of the predecessor: on each side of the ship a triple tube set for 55 cm torpedoes Modèle 1923D with a total of three reserve torpedoes, which were carried between the tube sets in the torpedo workshop. The torpedoes had a range of 9 km at 39 knots or 13 km at 35 knots. Their warheads, weighing 308 kg, were stored in armored boxes directly on the sides of the ship in peacetime.
Fire control
The central straightening device for the main artillery and the fire control devices for the heavy flak were placed on the top of the bridge tower.
The central straightening device was the standard device for heavy cruisers ("type 10,000 tonnes"). It had a cross- sectional image rangefinder with a 5 meter base, and a 3 m spatial image rangefinder, which was supposed to be used to measure the distance between the target and the impacts (columns of water) of shortshots (a method that John Jordan in English referred to as "scartometry"). In addition, three of the main turrets carried rangefinders with a 5-meter base: the second and fourth turrets had a cross-sectional imaging device, and the third turret, in which the evasive fire control center was located, a spatial imaging device. The data from the range finders were evaluated by a model 1924 fire control computer. This stood behind armor protection inside the ship under the command post.
The fire control devices for the heavy flak carried 3-meter spatial rangefinders. The associated computing station was on the lowest level of the bridge tower.
In addition, the Algérie had a 3-meter range finder on the command post for general purposes and four 1-meter devices that were used to provide distance information to the gunners of the 37-mm guns.
There were three 1.3 m headlights on the headlight tower, the two outer ones could be aimed with the help of the anti-aircraft fire control devices. At the front of the bridge tower there was a 75 cm spotlight that was used for navigation.
safety devices
Armor protection and underwater protection concentrated on the 105 m long area amidships, in which the propulsion system and ammunition chambers were located.
Armor protection
Side armor and deck armor extended from the front to the rear turret and, together with the transverse tank bulkheads, formed an armored box open at the bottom, the so-called citadel . For the armoring, homogeneous armor steel with a tensile strength of 80 kg per mm² was used.
The armor belt or side armor was 110 mm thick. Its greatest height of 3.76 m it had in the area from the front end of the front ammunition chambers to the rear end of the aft engine room. Behind it it continued at a reduced height of 2.45 m to the rear end of the aft ammunition chambers. At normal displacement, the armored belt was 1 m below and 2.76 m and 1.45 m above the waterline. At the front and rear of the side armor, 70 mm thick tank bulkheads closed off the citadel, which extended to the lower end of the armor belt. Likewise, the step that resulted from the narrowing of the armored belt at the end of the aft engine room was closed by a 70 mm thick bulkhead.
In the area of the boiler and machine rooms there was a 40 to 60 mm thick armored bulkhead with a tensile strength of 60 kg per mm² within the armored belt at a distance of approx. 4 m. It extended vertically from the armored deck to the outer ship floor. In the area of the ammunition chambers, the torpedo bulkhead continued as a 20 mm thick fragment trap bulkhead. This extended from the outer floor of the ship to the ceiling of the ammunition chambers. The upper edge of the aft ammunition chambers hit the armored deck, while the front ammunition chambers ended a deck below the armored deck.
The armored deck extended over the entire width of the ship and had a maximum thickness of 80 mm. From the front ammunition chambers to the step of the side armor at the end of the engine room, it rested on the side of the side armor. Above the forward ammunition rooms, it was 80 mm thick across the entire width of the ship. Above the boiler and engine rooms, the maximum thickness was limited to the area between the torpedo bulkheads. Outside the torpedo bulkheads, the thickness was reduced to 30 mm. Shells that hit obliquely and could penetrate this smaller thickness should be stopped by the torpedo bulkhead.
In the area of the aft ammunition chambers, the armored deck was also 80 mm thick inside the fragmentation bulkheads and reduced to 30 mm outside. In this area, the upper edge of the armored belt was slightly higher than the armored deck, so that obliquely impacting shells should hit either the side armor or the thicker area of the armored deck.
The armored barbeds of the gun turrets protruded from the armored case . The front barbeds had 100 mm armor. The armor of the rear barbeds was also 100 mm thick down to the main deck and was reduced to 70 mm between the main deck and armored deck. The barbed armor was the only component of the armor that was on a base made of shipbuilding steel.
The armor of the main turrets was 100 mm thick at the front, 70 mm on the sides and ceiling and 50 mm on the rear. The command post was armored on the sides with 100 mm and on the roof with 70 mm. A vertical shaft with 50 mm thick armor connected the command post and the citadel.
The boiler exhaust shafts were protected above the armored deck by a box with 26 mm thick sides and transverse bulkheads. The steering gear had a 26 mm thick side protection and 20 mm thick transverse bulkheads.
The outer skin above the armored belt and the upper deck were made of 22 mm thick shipbuilding steel.
Underwater protection
Along the boiler and engine rooms, the Algérie had underwater protection, which was designed against hits by torpedoes with a warhead weighing 300 kg. The Algérie was not only the only French cruiser, but also the only cruiser built under contractual conditions that had full torpedo protection. The Japanese treaty cruisers and the British Kent class also had protection in the form of torpedo bulges, but they lacked the necessary depth.
In the area of the propulsion system, the double floor was raised along the sides of the ship to the armored deck. Behind the double bottom to fuel tanks were having a width of 2.2 m had in its upper part and in the lower part for Kimm tapered down. An empty space connected to the fuel tank, which was 1 m wide at the top and became wider at the bottom because of the tapered fuel tank. The protection was completed on the inside by the 40 mm thick torpedo bulkhead mentioned in connection with the armor protection.
The part of the double floor that was outside the torpedo bulkhead was not used as a fuel tank. The raised floor, oil tanks and empty space formed an air-liquid-air sandwich as a buffer against underwater explosions, which was 4.2 m wide at its widest point. At its ends, the protection system tapered with the shape of the hull, which is why the torpedo bulkhead was reinforced there to 50 to 60 mm.
As a further protection against underwater hits, the Algérie was divided into 17 watertight compartments by 16 transverse bulkheads. Below the main deck these were only broken through by pipes and cable ducts. Each of the 17 departments had its own pumps. This corresponded to the usual construction of French cruisers in the interwar period
Aircraft facilities
The Algérie disposal upon completion of a pneumatic catapult , which was installed on the port side of the deck between protection chimney and headlight structure. It could take off aircraft up to 3 tons. This was sufficient for the Gourdou -lesenurre GL-812 aircraft , of which two were carried: one on the catapult and one on the protective deck between the funnel and the headlight tower. The latter carried a crane to handle the aircraft.
The aviation fuel was carried in tanks on the outermost stern of the ship because of the risk of fire. In addition, appropriate devices made it possible to replace used fuel with carbon dioxide and to pump the gasoline quickly overboard.
Career
The keel of Algérie was in on 19 March 1931 de Brest Arsenal set, arriving on March 21, 1932 ran from stack . The test drives up to acceptance were carried out from May 15 to December 22, 1933. Final completion was on September 5, 1934, and she joined the fleet on October 19 of the same year.
While earlier French cruisers were named after historical people, the ship's name was chosen in memory of the conquest and colonization of Algeria a century earlier.
The ship was the flagship of the 1st light division in the Mediterranean ("1 re Division Léger"), later referred to as the 1st cruiser division, ("1 re Division Croiseur"), the four most modern heavy cruisers of the French Marine belonged to.
Second World War
After the outbreak of war, the Algérie belonged to Force X from October 10 to November 21, along with the British aircraft carrier Hermes , the battleship Strasbourg and other French cruisers and large destroyers . This force stationed in Dakar was supposed to track down and destroy German trade troublemakers. From there she made three advances: on 19/20. October 1940 alone in the direction of Freetown and on October 23-29 and November 7-13, 1940 with the entire Force X in the sea area south of Cape Verde . Then she returned to Toulon to lay in a shipyard.
From March 11, 1940, after the shipyard was in dock, the Algérie and the old battleship Bretagne brought a cargo of gold as payment for US arms deliveries to Halifax , Canada. On the way back they escorted two cargo ships with a load of American planes and reached France on April 10th.
After Italy entered the war, the Algérie took part in the “Opération Vado” on the night of June 13-14, 1940. Four French heavy cruisers ( Algérie , Foch , Dupleix and Colbert ), supported by 11 large destroyers, fired at targets on the Italian coast near Genoa , Savona and Vado Ligure . The Algérie group fired at targets around Savona and Vado, causing minor damage to homes and factories, and setting fire to an oil tank and gasometer. Overall, the operation produced few results, nine Italian civilians were killed. Attacks by Italian speedboats could be repulsed.
From June 17 to 18, 1940, the Algérie covered a convoy with 17 ships on the way from Marseille to Oran with other heavy cruisers of the 1st and 2nd cruiser divisions. When the armistice with Germany came into force , the Algérie was in Toulon. After the British attack on Mers-el-Kébir , the Algérie ran out of Toulon with the Dupleix and the Foch to take in Strasbourg , which had escaped from Mers-el-Kébir , but missed it.
In Toulon, the Algérie was kept in service as part of the "Forces de haute mer" until it was submerged. The ship was last used when the "Forces de haute mer" accompanied the battleship Provence on its return from Oran to Toulon from November 6th to 8th, 1940 .
Self-immersion
from left to right Strasbourg (aground), Colbert and Algérie (burning), Marseillaise (lying on their side)
After the Allied landing in French North Africa ( Operation Torch ), German and Italian forces moved into the unoccupied part of France with the Anton company on the morning of November 11th. After that, the German armed forces tried to get their hands on the French fleet intact in Toulon, which led to the self-sinking of the Vichy fleet on November 27, 1942.
The Algérie was moored on a pier of the "Appontements Milhauds". When the German troops entered the port area , the sea valves were opened and explosive charges detonated in the gun barrels. Fire spread over the fuel tanks and the ship burned for 20 days.
The damage to the ship was considered irreparable. The Italian Navy lifted the wreck on March 18, 1943. It was sold for demolition on December 21, 1956.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers. P. 54.
- ↑ Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers. Pp. 69, 74, 79.
- ↑ a b c d e Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers. Pp. 107-109.
- ^ John Jordan: Warships after Washington. Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley 2011, ISBN 978-1-84832-117-5 , p. 142.
- ^ John Jordan: Warships after Washington. Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley 2011, ISBN 978-1-84832-117-5 , pp. 108f.
- ↑ Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers. P. 82.
- ↑ The weight differences in relation to the drive follow from the tables in Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers, on p. 44, 72, 110. The corresponding information in the text on p. 82, 107 is partly contradictory.
- ^ Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers, comparison of the table information on p. 72 and p. 100.
- ↑ a b c d e f g Mike J. Whitley: Cruiser in World War II . Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-613-01842-X , p. 60ff.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers. Pp. 109-118.
- ↑ according to Mike J. Whitley: Cruisers in World War II . Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-613-01842-X , p. 60: 1,900 t normal fuel, 2,935 t maximum, range 5,000 nautical miles at 15 kn.
- ^ John Jordan: Warships after Washington. Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley 2011, ISBN 978-1-84832-117-5 , pp. 123f.
- ^ Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers , p. 8.
- ^ John Jordan: Warships after Washington. Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley 2011, ISBN 978-1-84832-117-5 , pp. 135, 145.
- ^ John Jordan: Warships after Washington. Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley 2011, ISBN 978-1-84832-117-5 , p. 135.
- ↑ Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers. Pp. 109, 166.
- ↑ Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers. P. 109.
- ↑ Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers. Pp. 169, 173.
- ↑ Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers. P. 177f.
- ↑ Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers. Pp. 179, 181.
- ↑ Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers. P. 183f.
- ↑ Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers. P. 184.
- ↑ Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers. P. 184.
- ↑ Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers. P. 184.
literature
- John Jordan, Jean Moulin: French Cruisers 1922-1956. Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley 2013, ISBN 978-1-84832-133-5 .
