French seaplane carrier Foudre
 Foudre, first seaplane carrier in history, with hangar and cranes.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Foudre |
| Namesake | "Lightning" |
| Builder | Chantiers de la Gironde, France |
| Laid down | 9 June 1892 |
| Launched | 20 Oct 1895 |
| Completed | 1896 (as a torpedo boat depot ship) |
| Decommissioned | 1 Dec 1921 |
| Fate | Scrapped |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Torpedo boat tender / Seaplane carrier |
| Tonnage | 6,100 tonnes (6,004 long tons) |
| Length | 118.8 m (389 ft 9 in) |
| Beam | 15.5 m (50 ft 10 in) |
| Draught | 7 m (23 ft 0 in) |
| Installed power | 12,000 shp (8,948 kW) |
| Propulsion | Triple expansion engines, 24 boilers, 2 shafts |
| Speed | 19 knots (35 km/h) |
| Boats & landing craft carried | 8 torpedo boats |
| Complement | 430 |
| Armament |
|
| Armour | Deck : 120 mm (4.7 in) |
| Aircraft carried | 4 seaplanes after conversion |
The Foudre was a French seaplane carrier, the first in history.[1][2] Her development followed the invention of the seaplane in 1910 with the French Le Canard.
Torpedo boat tender[edit]
The Foudre was first commissioned in 1896 as a torpedo boat tender (Croiseur porte-torpilleurs), with the role of helping bring torpedo boats to the high seas, and launch them for attack.
She was then modified as repair ship in 1907, as a minelayer in 1910, as a seaplane carrier in 1911 (depot, transport, and launch by crane), and seaplane carrier with a flying-off deck in 1913. She was initially converted to carry torpedo-carrying planes in hangars on the main deck. They were lowered on the sea with a crane.[3]
First seaplane carrier[edit]
In April 1910, Vice-Admiral Auguste Boué de Lapeyrère, Navy Minister, established a committee to study the usage of balloons and planes by the navy.
Seaplane tender[edit]
On 29 November 1911 a navy airbase was established at Fréjus Saint-Raphaël, and the torpedo boat tender Foudre was sent to the naval yard in Toulon to be converted as a seaplane tender. The ship was fitted out in a totally new way. A deck was installed at the bow for the seaplane to take off. The seaplane would land on the water, and be craned on board for stowing.
A float-equipped Canard Voisin seaplane was bought by the navy for this purpose in December 1911. The Foudre would be stationed at Fréjus, working as a seaplane tender, allowing for stowage, repair and supply of the seaplanes. The ship was armed on 15 April 1912, and trials with the Canard Voisin then started.
On 1 May 1912 the Navy Ministry purchased several more seaplanes, a monoplane Breguet with a single float, a Nieuport with double float, and a converted Farman biplane.
Experiments at sea started with the Foudre in July 1912 during tactical exercises in the Mediterranean. The Canard Voisin, and a new foldable Nieuport were used. During the exercises, in which a wargame simulated the fight of two rival navies, the use of the Nieuport allowed the discovery of a surprise attack by the "adversary". During the summer of 1912 many flights of the Canard Voisin from the Foudre were accomplished in the bay of Saint-Raphaël.
By the middle of 1913, the navy had 11 seaplane pilots. The Foudre was again used in large-scale naval exercises. One of its planes, a Nieuport used for observations, foiled a "surprise attack" by a group of warships. Five more seaplanes were ordered following these exercises.
Liftoff platform experiments[edit]
In November 1913, a 10-meter flying-off deck was installed, with the objective of using it for a Caudron G.3 seaplane. The plane successfully lifted off from the ship on 8 May 1914. At the beginning of the war, the platform was dismantled, and further experiments were postponed to a later date.
World War I[edit]
During World War I her roles were numerous, ranging from submarine tender to seaplane/aircraft transport, and headquarters ship in 1916. She was employed as an aviation school ship after the war.[citation needed]
Notes[edit]
- ^ "The first ship to be transformed into a seaplane-carrier was the auxiliary cruiser Foudre in August 1912" (Fr: "le premier navire transformé en " porte-hydravions " est le croiseur auxiliaire Foudre en août 1912") French Defense Ministry
- ^ "Le premier navire à être transformé en porte hydravion a été le croiseur auxiliaire Foudre en août 1911" "The first ship to be transformed into a seaplane carrier was the auxiliary cruiser Foudre in August 1911" [1] Archived 2006-11-20 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Description of Foudre
Bibliography[edit]
- Gibbs, Jay (2015). "Question 26/51: Torpedo Boat Carriers". Warship International. LII (3): 212–214. ISSN 0043-0374.
- Le Roy, Thierry (January 1996). "L'escadrille de Port Said: Première escadrille de l'aviation maritime française 1914–1916 (1e partie)" [The Port Said Squadron: The First French Naval Aviation Squadron 1914–1916]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (34): 29–31. ISSN 1243-8650.
- Le Roy, Thierry (February 1996). "L'escadrille de Port Said: Première escadrille de l'aviation maritime française 1914–1916 (2e partie)". Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (35): 18–21. ISSN 1243-8650.
- Le Roy, Thierry (March 1996). "L'escadrille de Port Said: Première escadrille de l'aviation maritime française 1914–1916 (Fin)". Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (36): 31–36. ISSN 1243-8650.
Further reading[edit]
- Moulin, Jean (2020). Tous les porte-aéronefs en France: de 1912 à nos jours [All the Aircraft Carriers of France: From 1912 to Today]. Collection Navires et Histoire des Marines du Mond; 35 (in French). Le Vigen, France: Lela Presse. ISBN 978-2-37468-035-4.
External links[edit]
