French cruiser Amiral Aube
 Amiral Aube at the Quebec Tercentenary, 1908 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name: | Amiral Aube |
| Namesake: | Théophile Aube |
| Builder: | Chantiers de Penhoët, Saint-Nazaire |
| Laid down: | 9 August 1899 |
| Launched: | 9 May 1902 |
| Completed: | 17 April 1904 |
| Struck: | 4 April 1922 |
| Fate: | Sold for scrap, 15 September 1922 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Gloire-class armored cruiser |
| Displacement: | 9,534 metric tons (9,383 long tons) |
| Length: | 139.8 m (458 ft 8 in) |
| Beam: | 20.2 m (66 ft 3 in) |
| Draft: | 7.7 m (25 ft) |
| Installed power: |
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| Propulsion: | 3 shafts, 3 vertical triple-expansion steam engines |
| Speed: | 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph) |
| Range: | 12,000 nautical miles (22,000 km; 14,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement: | 612 |
| Armament: |
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| Armor: |
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The French cruiser Amiral Aube was a Gloire-class armored cruiser built for the French Navy in the early 1900s. She served in the English Channel and the Mediterranean during World War I. In early 1918, the ship was sent to Murmansk to support Allied forces during the when they intervened in the Russian Civil War. Amiral Aube was placed in reserve in 1919 and sold for scrap in 1922.
Design and description
The Gloire-class ships were designed as enlarged and improved versions of the Gueydon-class armored cruisers by Emile Bertin. Her crew numbered 612 officers and men.[1] The ship measured 139.8 meters (458 ft 8 in) overall, with a beam of 20.2 meters (66 ft 3 in). Amiral Aube had a draft of 7.7 meters (25 ft 3 in)[2] and displaced 10,014 metric tons (9,856 long tons).[1]
The ship had three propeller shafts, each powered by one vertical triple-expansion steam engine, which were rated at a total of 20,500 indicated horsepower (15,300 kW). Twenty-four Belleville water-tube boilers provided steam for her engines. She had a designed speed of 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph).[2] She carried up to 1,590 long tons (1,620 t) of coal[1] and could steam for 12,000 nautical miles (22,000 km; 14,000 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[2]
Amiral Aube's main armament consisted of two 194-millimeter (7.6 in) guns were mounted in single gun turrets fore and aft. Her intermediate armament was eight Canon de 164 mm Modèle 1893 guns. Four of these were in single gun turrets on the sides of the ship and the other four were in casemates. For anti-torpedo boat defence she carried six 100-millimeter (3.9 in) guns in casemates and eighteen 47-millimeter (1.9 in) Hotchkiss guns. She was also armed with five 450-millimeter (17.7 in) torpedo tubes; two of these were submerged and the others were above water.[1]
The waterline armored belt of the Gloire-class ships was 170 millimeters (6.7 in) thick amidships and tapered to 106 millimeters (4.2 in) towards the bow and stern. Above the main belt was a thinner strake of armor, 127 millimeters (5 in) thick that also tapered to 106 mm at the ends of the ship.[3] The conning tower had armored sides 150 millimeters (5.9 in) thick. The main gun turrets were protected by 173 millimeters (6.8 in)[2] of armor and the intermediate turrets by 120 millimeters (4.7 in). The flat part of the lower armored deck was 45 millimeters (1.8 in), but increased to 64 millimeters (2.5 in) as it sloped down to the sides of the ship.[3]
Service history
Amiral Aube was laid down at the Chantiers de Penhoët shipyard in Saint-Nazaire on 24 May 1899[4] and was launched on 9 May 1902.[5] The ship was completed on 17 April 1904. When World War I began, the cruiser was assigned to the Training Squadron which reinforced the 2nd Light Squadron at Brest.[6] She patrolled the English Channel for the rest of 1914, before going to the Eastern Mediterranean the following year. In March 1918, Amiral Aube was sent to North Russia to support the Allied intervention there.[7] She was placed in reserve in 1918, stricken on 4 April 1922 and sold for scrap on 15 September.[4]
Notes
References
- "French Armored Cruiser Sully". Warship International. Toledo, Ohio: Naval Records Club. V (4): 324–26. 1968. ISSN 0043-0374.
- Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.
- Kennan, George F. (1958). The Decision to Intervene: The Prelude to Allied Intervention in the Bolshevik Revolution. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
- Moulin, Jean (2013). "France: La Marine Nationale". In O'Hara, Vincent. To Crown the Waves: The Great Navies of the First World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-61251-269-3.
- Silverstone, Paul H. (1984). Directory of the World's Capital Ships. New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN 0-88254-979-0.
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