Duquesne class
-_SLV_H91.325-33.jpg) The Tourville
information in the table from Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers , unless otherwise stated |
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The Duquesne- class was a two-ship class of heavy cruiser and the first class of its type in the French Navy . It included the Duquesne and the Tourville . Built under the constraints of the Washington Naval Agreement , they were fast, well-armed ships with minimal armor protection.
The ships mostly belonged to the Mediterranean fleet. After France left the Second World War , they were interned in Alexandria in consultation with the British . They were reactivated in mid-1943 and were used on the Allied side . After the end of World War II , they were used as part of the Indochina War until they retired from active service in 1947.
Design history
After the First World War, most of the shipments used by the French Navy were out of date. In particular, she had no even remotely modern cruisers , so she had to make do with delivered German and Austro-Hungarian cruisers. The three light cruisers of the Duguay-Trouin class were therefore put into construction from 1922 to 1923 . With the conclusion of the Washington Naval Agreement in 1922 , future cruisers were reduced to a standard displacement of 10,000 tn. l. (10,060 t ) and a gun caliber of 20.3 cm. This led to the signatory states and leading naval powers Great Britain, the USA, Japan, France and Italy considering designs for smaller cruisers as second-rate and taking full advantage of the treaty limits.
France was the only country that relied largely on an existing design (the so-called Duguay-Trouin class) when developing its first class of heavy cruisers. This led to the Duquesne class. The ships should perform the following tasks:
- strategic reconnaissance
- Support for light surface forces, convoy escorts and submarines
- Destroying enemy trade disruptors
- fast troop transports between North Africa and France
- Show the flag
The French Navy deemed high speed necessary for the ships to outrun British ( Hood , Renown- class ) and Japanese ( Kongō- class ) battlecruisers . It assumed that the difference in size between the Duguay-Trouin class and the Duquesne class of 2,000 t standard displacement would be used up by increasing the caliber of the main artillery, so that the Duquesne class would also receive hardly any armor.
In July 1922 the General Staff of the French Navy ("état-major géneral de la marine") specified the requirements for the ships:
- eight 8-inch guns with 150 rounds per gun in three or four lightly armored turrets
- four 10 cm anti-aircraft guns with 500 rounds per gun
- two sets of four for 55 cm torpedoes with a total of four reserve torpedoes
- four 24 cm anti-submarine mortars from Thornycroft
- 5,000 nautical miles range at 15 kn .
Two drafts were to be drawn up: One draft for a ship without armor protection and at the highest possible speed, the second with a speed 2 knots lower, whereby the saved weight should be used for armor.
In November 1922, the General Staff expanded the requirements: The heavy anti-aircraft defense was to be increased to eight 10 cm guns, plus eight 40 mm guns and twelve 8 mm machine guns (additional weight approx. 95 t ). In addition, a seaplane and a compressed air catapult should be planned (additional weight approx. 160 t). To compensate for this, only triplet torpedo sets should be installed instead of quadruple torpedo sets. Since the number of reserve torpedoes was to be increased to 6 at the same time - the total number of torpedoes to be carried remained at twelve - hardly any weight was saved as a result.
At this stage of the design work, even if there was no significant armor protection, only 1,740 t were available for the propulsion system. Measured against the power-to-weight ratio of the Duguay Trouin class propulsion system, that would have meant an output of 85,000 hp and thus a speed of only 31.5 knots. To solve this problem, the French Navy put the propulsion system out to tender. Ateliers et Chantieres de Bretagne then offered a drive system that was supposed to produce 115,000 hp for 34 kn at a boiler pressure of 20 bar .
A certain weight saving was achieved by reducing the caliber of the heavy flak from 10 cm to 7.5 cm, that of the medium flak from 40 mm to 37 mm and by doing without the U-defense mortars. The naval construction department (“service technique des constructions navale”) proposed to forego a speed of 2 kn in order to strengthen armor protection with the weight saved. The General Staff refused because it had reports that the new Italian heavy cruisers (the later Trento class ) would run 34 knots. Like other navies, the French navy assumed that protection against 20 cm shells would be impossible with the given displacement. Compared to destroyers and torpedo boats , the ships should be able to lead the battle at such great distances that they would have little chance of hit. In addition, the French Navy developed large destroyers to shield their cruisers from close range combat.
The construction contracts for the two ships were given to the naval shipyards in Brest and Lorient on July 1, 1924, where the keel was stretched on October 30, 1924 ( Duquesne ) and April 14, 1925 ( Tourville ) .
technology
The ships were 191 m over all and 185 m between the perpendiculars , 19 m wide and had a draft of 6.45 m at normal displacement . The standard displacement was 10,060 t , the normal displacement 10,440 t and the maximum displacement 12,435 t.
The fuselage was designed in longitudinal frame construction. The French Navy used a shipbuilding steel with a relatively low tensile strength of 50 kg per mm 2 , which is why the hull plating and the decks amidships were relatively thick with 16 to 24 mm.
The ships had a raised foredeck that extended to the bridge . They carried their main armament in two raised twin towers in front of the bridge and behind the main mast. A heavy tripod mast was located above the bridge, which carried the central alignment device for the main artillery. The ships had two chimneys . The catapult was installed amidships between the second chimney and the main mast . The dinghies were housed between the chimneys and on either side of the aft chimney and catapult.
drive
The drive was housed in four boiler rooms and two engine rooms, with two boiler rooms in front of each of the two engine rooms (unit or power plant principle), which supplied it with steam. This alternating arrangement was intended to increase survivability in the event of combat damage.
In each boiler room there were two oil-fired Guyot-du-Temple narrow-tube water boilers , for a total of eight boilers. Each four boilers in two neighboring boiler rooms shared a chimney .
The boiler feed four sets Rateau - geared turbines , which were in pairs placed in the engine rooms and four waves on four screws worked. The turbines in the front engine room drove the outer shafts, those in the rear the inner ones. A turbine set consisted of a pair of main impulse type turbines with an output of 30,000 horsepower and a turbine for reverse travel . The rear turbine sets also included a marching turbine each with an output of 2,900 hp. Each turbine set had its own turbo pumps and condensers.
The machine system was designed for a total output of 120,000 hp and a speed of 34 kn . The tests did not fully meet the expectations of the French Navy, which had hoped that the ships would hold 34 knots for 8 hours with normal displacement. Duquesne reached 34.1 knots for four hours with 131,770 hp, Tourville reached 33.2 knots for six hours with 126,919 hp. When pushed, the Tourville's drive system developed 136,742 hp for 34.5 knots for over an hour. On the other hand, the ships could easily hold 31 knots at maximum displacement and ran at half power of 30 knots for 24 hours.
A maximum of 1,842 t of fuel could be stored. According to the design, a range of 700 nautical miles at 33 kn and 5000 nautical miles at 15 kn should be achieved.
Four turbo generators and - for operation in the port - two diesel generators were available for power supply. One pair of turbo generators and the diesel generators were in a room at the level of the second turret, the second pair on a raised platform in the rear engine room.
The ships had two rudders arranged one behind the other , the front 11 m 2 and the rear 22 m 2 .
Armament
Guns
The main armament was formed by eight 20.3 cm Modèle 1924 guns with a caliber length of L / 50. The guns were set up in two elevated twin towers in front of and behind the superstructure.
The gun type was developed for this class of ship and should be used on all heavy cruisers of the French Navy. It had a welin screw cap . Designed for a rate of fire of 5 to 6 rounds per minute, in reality they only achieved a rate of 3 to 4 rounds per minute.
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. From March 1939, the grenades were given bags of dye through which columns of water could be assigned to the firing ships: red for the Duquesne , yellow for the Tourville .
As heavy air defense, eight 7.5 cm L / 50 guns Modèle 1924 were installed in single mounts on the sides of the ship: two on each side of the bridge and two on each side of the rear end of the superstructure. The gun fired a 5.9 kg grenade with a muzzle velocity of 850 m / s, with which a maximum range against sea targets of 15 km and a shot height of 7.5 km were achieved. In addition to HE grenades with time fuses or impact fuses , flare grenades were also available. The rate of fire should theoretically reach 15 rounds per minute, in practice it was 8 rounds per minute.
In addition, the ships received 8 semi-automatic 37 mm L / 50 anti-aircraft guns: two on the foredeck, four on the side of the first funnel and two on the aft deck. A number of 8 mm MG were also installed.
Torpedoes
The ships had two triple torpedo tube sets for 55 cm torpedoes, one set on each side of the ship on the upper deck between the funnels. Three reserve torpedoes were carried between the tube sets in the torpedo workshop and could be pushed directly into the tubes from the two maintenance racks for reloading. The 1923D 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 ships ran a central straightening device on the tripod mast above the bridge for fire control. This was only available from 1929 to 1930, i.e. after completion. The central aiming device had a split image rangefinder with a 5 meter base, and a spatial image rangefinder with a 3 m base, which was intended to measure the distance between the target and the impacts (columns of water) of shortshots (a method that John Jordan called "scartometry" in English). The measurement data from the central straightening device was supplied to a model 1924 fire control computer, and two simpler computing devices were also available as backups. The fire control computers were located inside the ship at the level of the command post.
The second and third main turrets also had a 5 m range finder that could supply the fire control computer with data. For general purposes, another 5 m device was installed on the armored command post, which also served as fire control for the torpedo armament . As long as these were not available, the ships were given older models.
Fire control devices for the heavy flak were only installed from 1932 to 1934. The ships received two devices, one on each side of the bridge . Each control device had a 3 m range finder and supplied its own fire control computer with data.
Four 1.2 m spotlights were installed for night battles, two each on the front tripod mast and two on the rear main mast.
safety devices
The ships had little armor protection. High-tensile steel with a tensile strength of 60 kg per mm 2 was used for this.
The powder and garnet chambers, which extended over a quarter of the ship's length, had side armor bulkheads 30 mm thick and 20 mm thick ceilings and bulkheads. This should protect the most vulnerable part of the ships from the guns of the destroyers of the time . The concept was that the relatively thick outer skin should trigger the impact fuses of the grenades. Since the magazines were located deep inside the ship, the light armor in combination with the distance between the magazines and the sides of the ship should be sufficient to intercept the shrapnel.
The turrets and command post were protected by two layers of 15 mm thick steel, also by a total of 30 mm. The steering gear had a 17 mm thick splinter protection. The armor in the hull weighed 368 t , the armament 91 t, i.e. 459 t or 4.5% of the standard displacement, the lowest value among the first-generation contract cruisers.
Otherwise, the careful subdivision of the ships should ensure their survivability. The ships had 16 continuous transverse bulkheads from the keel to the upper deck , which were watertight up to the main deck. Each of the 17 departments formed in this way had its own pumps and ventilation. The transverse bulkheads in front of and behind the engine rooms were reinforced with 20 mm thick high-tensile steel (60 kg per mm 2 ). The unit principle of the machinery should ensure that after a torpedo hit at least 2 boilers and 1 set of turbines would still be available.
Aircraft facilities
The intended catapult was only available for installation from 1929 to 1930. It got its place between the second chimney and the main mast. The catapult worked with powder cartridges and could take off aircraft up to 2.5 t. From this point on, the ships carried two Gourdou -lesenurre GL-810 or GL-811 aircraft , one on the catapult and one between the funnels. CAMS 37 A or Schreck FBA 17 , which were launched from the surface of the water, had previously been embarked.
A crane on the main mast and the boat crane between the funnels were used to move the aircraft. The aviation fuel was carried in tanks on the outermost stern of the ship due to 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.
Conversions
Before World War II
1930, the vessels were given a screw protection for the outer propellers .
From 1932 to 1934 the class underwent its first major upgrade. The AA fire control stations described above were installed. The control rooms of the Duquesne were one deck higher, which was the main distinguishing feature of the two ships. The rangefinders of the second and third main turrets were replaced by a newer model and modified so that they could be swiveled 15 ° relative to the turret.
The 7.5 cm guns were given protective shields. The four 37 mm anti-aircraft guns on the foredeck and aft deck were set up in a new position to the side of the boat crane. Four double mounts with 13.2 mm Hotchkiss machine guns were newly installed on the aft deck.
Around 1936 the central straightening devices of the two ships received a spatial range finder with a larger base length of 8 m.
In 1937, the catapults were temporarily expanded and upgraded so that they were suitable for the larger Loire 130 aircraft . In addition, the bridge cams were modified to accommodate a 13.2 mm MG twin on each side. These were given protective shields the following year.
After reactivation in May 1943
After the ships had been reactivated on the Allied side , they required modernization, particularly with regard to radar and air defense . However, Great Britain and the USA were not prepared to provide greater resources for the older French ships. In particular, the USA was not ready to deliver the 40 mm Bofors quad mounts with fire control devices requested by the French .
Finally, from January to March 1944, the ships were modernized to a limited extent in North Africa. Torpedo tubes and aircraft equipment came off board. Instead of their 37 mm and 13.2 mm anti- aircraft guns , they received modern automatic cannons . They received radar devices of US origin: type SA for sea surveillance and type SF-2 for air surveillance. In addition, the front chimney was capped.
In 1945 the ships carried six ( Duquesne ) and eight ( Tourville ) 40 mm L / 60 Bofors in single mounts and 18 ( Duquesne ) and 16 ( Tourville ) individual 20 mm Oerlikon cannons .
Career
| Builder: | Keel laying | Launch | Commissioning | Whereabouts | Namesake | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duquesne : | Arsenal de Brest | October 30, 1924 | December 17, 1925 | January 25, 1929 | retired on July 2, 1955 and put up for sale | Abraham Duquesne |
| Tourville : | Arsenal de Lorient | April 4, 1925 | August 24, 1926 | March 12, 1929 | retired on March 8, 1962, scrapped in Toulon | Anne Hilarion de Costentin de Tourville |
Initially, the ships were classified as "croiseur léger", literally light cruisers, to distinguish them from the armored cruisers still in existence . In terms of content, however, this designation is not identical to the term light cruiser used later . Following the definitions of the London Fleet Agreement 1930, the ships were reclassified to "croiseur 1ère class" (1st class cruisers).
Even before their official completion, the two ships took part in a fleet survey in Le Havre on July 3, 1928.
Soon afterwards they had to take over the naval school's training trip together with the heavy cruiser Suffren because the old armored cruiser Edgar Quinet , which had previously been used as a training ship, was lost due to stranding. The journey began in Brest in October 1930 and led via Dakar, Rio de Janeiro and the French West Indies to Toulon in January 1931, and also to the eastern Mediterranean between April and July.
Subsequently, the ships were assigned to the Mediterranean fleet for most of the time and normally formed a division with the Suffren (first as "1 re Division Léger", then as "3 e Division Léger", i.e. 1st or 3rd light division, finally as "2 e Division Croiseur" second cruiser division). In November 1937, the division was assigned to the Naval Artillery School in Toulon. The Duquesne was used in connection with the Spanish Civil War.
In the mid-1930s, the Italian Navy had put the heavily armored Zara-class cruisers into service. The French Navy feared that the Duquesne class had largely lost its speed advantage due to its age. Therefore, in 1935, consideration was given to converting the ships into aircraft carriers. Three of the related studies provided a flight deck cruiser with a 139 m long flight deck, in which the foremost or rearmost main turret should be retained. The fourth study related to a pure aircraft carrier with a flight deck of 176 m long. The capacity should be 12-14 aircraft. The boiler exhaust gases should be routed through a horizontal vent on the starboard side and discharged at the stern. The project was eventually abandoned in favor of purpose-built aircraft carriers, the never-completed Joffre-class .
At the beginning of the Second World War , the ships were used on patrols to search for Axis ships. The Tourville also transferred gold reserves to Beirut. On May 4, 1940, both ships joined the Force X, which operated together with the British fleet from Alexandria . This Franco-British fleet was to control the Eastern Mediterranean in the event of Italy entering the war.
After the armistice between France and the German Reich on June 25, 1940, negotiations between Admiral Godfroy and Admiral Cunningham took place in Alexandria about the fate of the French ships in Force X. The result was that the ships, including the Duquesne and the Tourville , were deactivated and remained in Alexandria under a reduced French occupation.
On May 17, 1943, the French ships in Alexandria, including the Duquesne and the Tourville , joined the Allied side. Until the beginning of 1944 they took part in several patrols from Dakar to hunt down German blockade breakers. They were not involved in the landings in Normandy and Provence because they lacked modern air defense. Towards the end of the war, the Duquesne supported operations against the so-called Atlantic fortresses .
After the end of World War II, the ships were used for troop transports and bombardments in the developing Indochina War. In the second half of 1947, both ships retired from active service.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Mike J. Whitley: Cruiser in World War II . Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-613-01842-X , p. 54ff.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers. Pp. 41-45.
- ^ John Jordan: Warships after Washington. Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley 2011, ISBN 978-1-84832-117-5 , p. 113.
- ^ John Jordan: Warships after Washington. Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley 2011, ISBN 978-1-84832-117-5 , p. 109.
- ^ A b John Jordan: Warships after Washington. Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley 2011, ISBN 978-1-84832-117-5 , p. 119.
- ↑ 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 Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers. Pp. 46-52.
- ↑ Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers. P. 9f.
- ↑ Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers. P. 32f.
- ↑ Naval Weapons: France - 75 mm / 50 (2.95 ") Model 1922, 1924 and 1927 (engl.)
- ^ John Jordan: Warships after Washington. Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley 2011, ISBN 978-1-84832-117-5 , p. 112, here the total weight is given as 452 t.
- ^ John Jordan: Warships after Washington. Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley 2011, ISBN 978-1-84832-117-5 , p. 135.
- ↑ a b c d e f Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers. Pp. 46-52.
- ^ A b Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers. P. 198ff.
- ^ A b Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers. P. 210.
- ↑ Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers. P. 175.
- ↑ Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers. P. 171.
- ^ A b Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers. P. 169ff.
- ↑ Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers. P. 191.
- ↑ Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers. P. 202.
- ↑ Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers. P. 204f.
- ↑ Jordan, Moulin: French Cruisers. P. 209f.
literature
- John Jordan, Jean Moulin: French Cruisers 1922-1956. Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley 2013, ISBN 978-1-84832-133-5 .
