Mousquet
|
|
|---|---|
| Arquebuse class | |
 Mousquet |
|
| Overview | |
| Type | Torpedo boat destroyer |
| units | 20th |
| Shipyard | |
| Keel laying | November 1900 |
| Launch | August 7, 1902 |
| Commissioning | May 1903 |
| home port | Saigon |
| Whereabouts | Sunk
by SMS Emden near Penang on October 28, 1914 |
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement |
Construction: 298 t |
| length |
58.2 m |
| width |
6.4 m |
| Draft |
3.2 m |
| crew |
77 men |
| drive |
2 Normand type steam boilers |
| speed |
28 kn |
| Range |
2300 nm at 10 kn, 38 t coal |
| Armament |
|
The Mousquet (musket) was a French torpedo boat destroyer of the Arquebuse class comprising a total of twenty units . She was sunk on October 28, 1914 by the small cruiser SMS Emden off Penang . 40 sailors died with her.
History of construction and use
The Mousquet was launched on August 7, 1902 as the second Arquebuse class torpo boat destroyer . The ship was equipped with a 65 mm cannon (model 1891), which fired a 4.1 kilogram grenade, and six 47 mm Hotchkiss guns (model 1886), which could fire up to 30 shells per minute, armed. There were also two 381 mm torpedo tubes on board. After tests off Lorient, the Mousquet was assigned to the Mediterranean fleet. Already in March 1904 she moved to Indochina . From 1909 to 1911 she was assigned to the 1ère flotilla des torpilleurs des mers de Chine . Until March 1914 it was in reserve in Saigon. Her sister boats Pistolet and Fronde had also been in East Asia since 1904.
Battle with the Emden
The Mousquet belonged under the command of Lieutenant Théroinne at the beginning of World War I the French Asia fleet and secured, along with its sister boats Pistolet and Fronde and other Allied ships - including the Russian protected cruiser Russian cruiser Zhemchug and the French gunboat D'Iberville - the port from Penang in Malaysia . In peacetime the French destroyers were stationed in Saigon .
On October 28, 1914, the German small cruiser SMS Emden entered the port and sank the anchored cruiser Schemtschug there . On the way back out to the open sea of the German cruiser scored against 7:20 unawares on just returned from a patrol returning Mousquet . The Germans opened fire at a distance of around 4,300 meters and scored a 10.5 cm hit with their third volley, which gradually made the boiler room of the torpedo boat destroyer fill with water. The Mousquet initially responded briefly with its 65 mm cannon and shot a torpedo , which, however, failed. Since the enemy was strongly superior and the German artillery also had a greater range, the French ship turned at around 7:25 a.m. and ran off towards the open sea. The Germans then stopped their fire.
Because of the heavily damaged machinery, the French torpedo boat destroyer was unable to maintain its top speed and was quickly caught up by SMS Emden . At around 7:35 a.m., the German ship put the Mousquet, which was meanwhile heavily smoking, again. Since the Germans particularly feared the torpedo armament of the torpedo boat destroyer and an intention to surrender could not be recognized, the SMS Emden fired ten more salvos at the ship from a greater distance. The Mousquet received an estimated ten more 10.5 cm hits, which caused severe damage to the hull and the superstructure. At 7.44 a.m. the Mousquet capsized and sank. The commander, Lieutenant Théroinne, and 39 crew members went under with the torpedo boat destroyer.
The Germans then rescued 36 survivors of the French ship; many had suffered serious injuries. One crew member was able to evade the capture by SMS Emden associated with the rescue and swam to the coast.
Rescue of the seriously injured
Of the 36 rescued, three died of their serious injuries on board the SMS Emden in the following two days and were buried at sea. Since the Germans could not adequately care for the many seriously injured on board the cruiser, they stopped the British freighter Newburn on October 30 , handed over the remaining 33 seamen and ordered the steamer to take the French to Sabang on Sumatra to the Dutch hospital there have brought.
This decision probably saved the lives of some of the seriously injured French seafarers and was later given high credit to the crew of SMS Emden .
Web links
- SM Small cruiser "Emden"
- SMS Emden (Eng.)
- Les 20 Contre-Torpilleurs de 300 t.Type "ARQUEBUSE" (French)
- French destroyer in World War I
Remarks
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↑ Aviso-torpilleur D'Iberville , Ateliers & Chantiers de la Loire, Nantes, launched September 11, 1893, in service since June 1894, in Indochina since 1908,
950 t, two expansion machines, 5200 hp, 21.5 kn, 81 , 9 × 8.3 × 4 m, one 100 mm, three 65 mm, four 47 mm guns, three torpedo tubes