River Gunboats
Page 20
Launched:
1858 Crocodile and Griffon by FCM, La Seyne.
Dimensions:
Displ: 80 tons; L: 21.2m/69ft 6in; B: 4.8m/15ft 9in; D: 1.2m/3ft 11in.
Crew:
25.
Power/Speed:
Side paddle wheels; 20 nominal hp.
Guns/Armour:
2 × 12cm howitzers.
Fate:
Both broken up 1869.
Archer Class
Small iron gunboats of inferior quality designed by Alexandre. Pionnier went to Gabon.
Launched:
Archer and Pionnier 1859 by FCM, La Seyne.
Dimensions:
Displ: 91 tons; L: 24.82m/81ft 5in; B: 5m/16ft 5in; D: 1.18m/3ft 10in.
Crew:
26.
Power/Speed:
Side paddle wheels; 20 nominal hp.
Guns/Armour:
2 × 12cm howitzers.
Fate:
Archer broken up 1871; Pionnier 1872.
Grand Bassam Class
Wooden hull.
Launched:
Grand Bassam 1852, Ebrié 1853 by Rochefort DY.
Dimensions:
Displ: 178 tons; L: 34.35m/112ft 8in; B: 5.72m/18ft 9in; D: 1.91m/6ft 3in.
Crew:
19–25.
Power/Speed:
Side paddle wheels; 40 nominal hp/6.7 knots.
Guns/Armour:
4 × howitzers.
Fate:
Ebrié struck a rock and sank in the Akba River, Senegal May 1856; Grand Bassam broken up 1868.
Archimède Class
Designed for Senegal by Sabatier, copied from Podor. Iron hull. In September 1878 Espadon took part in a punitive expedition to Upper Senegal. Phoque never served in Senegal, and was mostly used on fishery protection.
Espadon. (From Alain Clouet’s Website)
Launched:
Archimède, Espadon, Phoque 1860 by Goole Shipyard, England.
Dimensions:
Displ: 375 tons; L: 42.38m/139ft; B: 7.2m/23ft 7in; D: 2.2m/7ft 3in.
Crew:
4 officers + 44 men.
Power/Speed:
Side paddle wheels; oscillating steam engines, 247ihp/8 knots (max 9.3 knots on trials).
Guns/Armour:
2–4 × 4-pounder howitzers.
Fate:
Archimède and Espadon broken up 1883; Phoque in 1886.
River Gunboats used in Gabon
Protée Class
Small colonial gunboats designed by Sabatier for use in Guyana and Senegal, but ultimately sent to Gabon.
Launched:
Protée and Pygmée 1860 by Nantes DY.
Dimensions:
L: 24m/78ft 5in; B: 5m/16ft 5in; D: 0.9m/3ft.
Crew:
25.
Power/Speed:
Side paddle wheels; steam engine, 59ihp/9 knots.
Guns/Armour:
2 × 12cm rifles.
Fate:
Protée stricken 1868, Pygmée 1873.
The Conquest of Timbuctoo
Niger
The small river gunboat Niger was specifically designed to operate on the Upper Niger, in support of the French colonial forces intent on penetrating as far inland as possible to establish new colonial territories in the ‘scramble for Africa’, which would soon be codified under the terms of the Congress of Berlin in 1884.
Composed of five steel hull sections, the Niger was carried as 300 packages of between 25kg and 50kg by native porters from Kayes to the future port of Mananbougou. There Enseigne de Vaisseau Froger had the task of assembling her. It was obvious that her operation would prove problematical, as she was designed to burn coal, which had to be sent from Saint-Louis, a considerable distance away. Enseigne de Vaisseau Davoust set about adding essential fittings to the vessel such as extensive sun shades, and he converted her boiler to burn wood, while still trying to maintain a top speed of at least 5 knots, which she would need to make progress against the current. As she burned a cubic metre of wood per hour, and could only carry a maximum of 10m3 on board, her mobility was severely restricted, and the need to make frequent stops to replenish her wood supply left her crew vulnerable to attack from the banks.
The very smartly-turned out Niger, reassembled and ready for launching, showing her modest dimensions, but with impressive twin funnels. (S.H.A.T. Archives, via Joël le Bras, asnom No 130, December 2015)
Launched:
Reassembled 1 May 1884.
Dimensions:
Displ: 25 tons; L: 18m/59ft 1in; B: 3m/9ft 10in; D: 0.2m/0ft 8in.
Power/Speed:
Single screw; 2-cyl steam engine, coal-burner, later wood-burner/5 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 37mm Hotchkiss Model 1879 QF/Anti-boarding nets deployable when moored at night.
Fate:
1896 converted to supply barge.
Mage
The history of the second gunboat on the upper Niger, named Mage, is far from clear. It is stated that she was originally constructed in 1886 in wood. Then in 1888 she was replaced by a sectional boat of steel. Presumably this replacement used the original machinery. This second boat proved unstable, so the steel hull was doubled by a second hull of wood, spaced out by 80cm, the intervening space being used for storage including spare parts. Curiously, the original Mage was then re-used as a utility craft and named Faidherbe. It is possible, but unlikely, that she was the same steel-hulled Faidherbe which nine years later would be transported by Marchand to Fashoda.
Launched:
8 May 1886.
Dimensions:
Displ: 20 tons; L: 10m/32ft 10in; B: 2.8m/9ft 2in (steel hull) B: 4.4m/14ft 5in (overall).
Power/Speed:
Single screw; 2-cyl steam engine, wood-burner/5 knots.
Guns/Armour:
2 × 37mm Hotchkiss Model 1879 QF/Anti-boarding nets deployable when moored at night.
Fate:
Stricken 1888, replaced by new metal hull; new vessel converted to supply barge 1896.
The Conquest of Dahomey
Opale and Onyx (Yarrow) Stern-wheelers
Standard Yarrow shallow-draught stern-wheelers, built in 1892– 3 for the French Navy, dismantled into sections for transport. Opale took part in the Dahomey expedition of 1892–4 against the forces of King Béhanzin, which included 1,500 women warriors, the fearsome ‘Amazones’. In order not to increase their minimal draught, the gunboats were lightly armed with only two of the single-barrelled 37mm Model 1885 QF guns.
Launched:
1892 (Opale); 1893 (Onyx) by Yarrow, Poplar.
Dimensions:
Displ: 60 tons; L: 21.94m/72ft; B: 7.7m/25ft 3in; D: 1m/3ft 3in.
Crew:
34.
Power/Speed:
Stern paddle wheel/9 knots.
Guns/Armour:
2 × 37mm Model 1885 QF.
Fate:
Stricken early 1900s.
Opale or Onyx undergoing trials on the Thames. The crew is raising the anchor. She is unarmed, as her French guns will be mounted following delivery. (The Engineer 1898 via Grace’s Guide to British Industrial History)
Yarrow sold at least one similar vessel to France, for use on the Betsiboka River in Madagascar, as shown in this old postcard. Note how her top hamper has increased from her original ‘as built’ configuration.
Topaze
Topaze, Emeraude and Rubis of the Rubis class were stationed in Senegal and took part in the campaign against Béhanzin.
Launched:
Rubis class 1884 by Dyle et Baccalan, Bordeaux; Emeraude by Toulon DY.
Power/Speed:
Single screw; steam engine.
Guns/Armour:
2 × 37mm Model 1885 QF.
Fate:
Stricken after 1897.
Small river gunboat Topaze before the addition of side armour plates, returning the fire of Dahomian troops who had attempted to ambush her on 27 March 1892. She had on board Vic
tor Ballot, the Governor of the French protectorate of Porto-Novo. This wanton act of aggression led directly to the second Dahomey War, and the annexation of the kingdom by the French. (Illustration by Alexandre d’Albéca, in La France au Dahomey, copy via New York Public Library).
The Exploration of Lake Chad
Gunboat Léon Blot
In 1895 French explorer Émile Gentil obtained from the Colonies Minister the funds to construct a sectional vessel to explore the upper reaches of the Congo Basin with the intention of reaching Lake Chad.
The gunboat, named Léon Blot, was built in seven sections, the flanges being bolted together with rubber strips sealing the joints. She drew very little water. Gentil described how for every additional 600kg of load she would draw 1cm more. She was first assembled and tested at Fort Crampel in Central Africa, then disassembled again for transport by native porters.
Setting out on 27 July 1885, the dismantled gunboat and two wooden boats were carried through the tropical jungle to the Gribingui River where the Léon Blot was reassembled and launched. Towing the two wooden boats, Gentil set off with two European companions, his Arab translator and fifty porters/workers including four servants. They were armed with a total of fifty-eight rifles, and although not mentioned, it is almost certain that the little gunboat would have carried at least one 37mm Model 1885 gun for added protection – as shown on the model of her in the Museum of the Marines in Fréjus. They navigated the Oubangui, then the Kemo, where they were obliged to dismantle their gunboat to carry it to the Chari, and eventually on 28 October 1897, the expedition reached Lake Chad. Not wishing to venture too far from a source of wood for fuel, Gentil spent only one day on the Lake, before retracing his steps, arriving back on the Gribingui on 12 December 1897.
Léon Blot on Lake Chad.
From September 1898 to January 1899 the gunboat was lent to de Behagle for his ill-fated mission to the capital of the warlord Rabah. On 29 July 1899 Gentil set out on a second expedition, having been obliged to first effect repairs to his little gunboat, which had greatly suffered in the interval from the effects of heavy rainfall. On 11 April 1899 Gentil met up with two other missions, that of Joalland-Meynier coming from the West and Fourneau-Lamy coming down from North Africa. The combined forces defeated the warlord Rabah, and on 22 May 1900 Gentil founded Fort Lamy, the modern Ndjamena, capital of Chad.
This was not the end of the story, for in 1902 the Léon Blot accompanied the mission of Lieutenant Colonel Destenave to Lake Chad, and she continued to navigate the waters of the Lake for almost half a century. Cast ashore in 1945, she remained on dry land until 2001, when her remains were transported to the Marines Museum in Fréjus. Her bow section is currently on display outside the Museum, but at the time of writing it was planned to carry out restoration work to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the Museum in 2020, and display this little gunboat which had contributed so much to the exploration of Central Africa.
Launched:
1895 by Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loir, Saint-Denis.
Dimensions:
Displ: 60 tons; L: 18m/59ft 1in; B: 4m/13ft 1in; D: 0.4m/1ft 4in.
Power/Speed:
Single screw; steam engine, wood-fired, 60ihp.
Guns/Armour:
2 × 37mm Model 1885 QF.
Fate:
Cast ashore on Lake Chad 1945; in storage in Fréjus.
Faidherbe and the Marchand Expedition to Fashoda
Commandant Marchand left the Congo in February 1897, and reached Fashoda (modern Kodo) on 10 July 1898. The following month he and his 120 Tirailleurs fought off an attack by between 2,000 and 3,000 Dervishes sent from Omdurman (see SUDAN, MAHDIST STATE). Alerted by this action, Kitchener moved up the White Nile and on 18 September 1898 confronted Marchand’s little detachment with a large Anglo-Egyptian force carried in river gunboats. The French government was forced to back down and evacuate Fashoda, and Marchand’s little expedition eventually reached Djibouti six months later.
This was Marchand’s small sectional river gunboat that his porters had carried all the way from the Congo to Fashoda. Obviously she stood no chance of facing up to the heavily-armed Anglo-Egyptian river gunboats, fresh from their victory at Omdurman. Although information on her is scarce – not surprising in view of the uproar in France over the debacle at Fashoda – she was most likely transported on to Djibuti.
A cartouche of Commandant Marchand and one of his Tirailleurs Sénégalais, showing the stern of their sectional gunboat Faidherbe which they had transported all the way from the Congo. In an attempt to counter the British plan to drive a railway across Africa from North (Cairo) to South (Capetown), the French aimed to cross this route at right angles, travelling from West to East, attempting to link Dakar to Djibouti on the Red Sea. One of their main objectives along the way was to be the abandoned Egyptian post of Fashoda on the White Nile. Their arrival there sparked off the Fashoda Incident, which for a short time brought Britain and France to the point of open hostilities. (From the Nathan Archives, via the Larousse Encyclopedia)
Faidherbe on the White Nile.
Sebou 1912. (Source: L’Illustration, 11 January 1913)
Opening up Morocco
Canonnière Sebou
In Morocco the River (Oued) Sebou poses serious problems to navigation, the water level being too low in summer and forming torrents in the winter months. In 1911 the French forces were anxious to be able to use the river for the transport of troops and supplies, so for more than a month from 24 December 1911 to 30 January 1912 an expedition under the command of Enseigne de Vaisseau Dantec attempted the first ascent of the river in a powered vessel. He successfully arrived at Fez, and was able to support the Sultan and the Jewish population who had been besieged by the Amazigh tribe ever since the signature of the treaty establishing the French Protectorate.
The French constructor Omnium then built a special river gunboat, the Sebou, drawing just 80cm (2ft 7½in) as the first of what was hoped would be a flotilla of such craft flying the Tricolore on the Oued Sebou. The armament carried by Sebou is unknown, but from her substantial size in the photo, she could have carried at least one five-barrelled 37mm Hotchkiss revolver cannon.
CHINA GUNBOATS
Arc Type Canonnière No 15 Etoile
No 15 was transported to China in 1861 and used to survey Pei-Ho Bay. On 7 August 1861 she was stranded in Ta-Tsing-Ho Bay, but a following tide floated her off. In 1862–3, renamed Etoile, she served on the Yangtze, but on 14 October 1863 a boiler explosion at Shanghai sank her, and she was broken up the following January. For details see Indochina below.
Canonnière Kien-Chan
In early 1863 Enseigne de Vaisseau Laurens ascended the Yangtze as far as Hankow in the small gunboat Kien-Chan, probably an armed river steamer, thus establishing the French presence on the river.
Kenney Class River Gunboats
Wooden-hulled gunboats designed by Engineer Verny, modified from the previous ocean-going gunboats of the Poudre class, but with lower bulwarks as they were intended for riverine use. They were built at the new French shipyard in China at Ning-Po, which had facilities for building hulls but none for machinery or armament. Class leader Kenney was launched on 30 October 1863, Cdt Bourdais on 20 May 1864, Le Brethon (ex-Aigrette) on 17 September 1864 and Tardif (ex-Aventure) on 14 December 1864. They had short service lives, three being discarded in 1868 and the last, Le Brethon, in 1869, perhaps due to the re-use of steam engines and boilers from the old Poudre class built during the Crimean War.
Launched:
1863 and 1864 by Ning-Po Dockyard.
Dimensions:
Displ: 253 tons; L: 36.04m/118ft 3in; B: 6.72m/22ft; D: 1.94m/6ft 4in.
Crew:
51.
Power/Speed:
Single screw; steam engine, 90 nominal hp.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 164mm Mle 1858 BL + 2 × 12cm bronze MLR.
Fate:
Stricken 1868–9.
Doucet Clas
s River Gunboats 1885
The Doucet class were shallow-draught stern-wheelers for service on Chinese rivers. The class comprised Bobillot, Cuvellier, Doucet, Raynaud and Rollandes.
Launched:
1885.
Dimensions:
120 tons; L: 29.6m/97ft 1in; B: 11m/36ft 1in; D: 0.79m/2ft 7in.
Crew:
48.
Power/Speed:
Stern paddle wheel; steam engines 300ihp.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 47mm Hotchkiss QF; 4 × 37mm Hotchkiss revolver cannons.
Fate:
Stricken by the 1890s.
Colonial Gunboat Décidée
In a similar manner to the later use of RN ocean-going sloops to support riverine operations in Mesopotamia, the French Navy used Décidée as headquarters and support ship for their flotilla of China gunboats between 1900 and 1913.
Profile of Décidée. (Chatellerault Archives on the Web)
Décidée stranded and partially dismasted after running aground in Poyang Lake on 30 May 1906. It took seventeen days to refloat her.
One of her sisters, the Zélée, was sunk by Von Spee’s squadron at Papeete, Tahiti on 22 September 1914.
Launched:
23 June 1899 by Lorient DY.
Dimensions:
Displ: 680 tons; L: 56m/183ft 8in; B: 8m/26ft 3in; D: 3.8m/12ft 6in.
Crew:
103.
Power/Speed:
Single screw; compound steam engine 1,800ihp/13.4 knots.
Guns/Armour:
2 × 100mm; 4 × 65mm QF; 4 × 37mm QF.
Fate:
Stricken July 1931.
Argus Class River Gunboats (1900)