River Gunboats
Page 22
In 1929 she was withdrawn from the Upper Yangtze for which she had been designed, due to her limited manoeuvrability in the rapids, but also because the local Chinese authorities had forbidden navigation by foreign gunboats, and her small size and limited armament meant that her crew had no chance of imposing their presence in the face of this ban. In 1937 she was stricken at Shanghai.
Launched:
Hull launched by Brest DY Autumn 1921; completed Shanghai 6 April 1922.
Dimensions:
Displ: 43.45 tons designed/80 plus tons actual; L: 25.6m/84ft; B: 5.2m/17ft; D: 0.5m/1ft 7½in designed, 0.85m /2ft 11½in actual.
Crew:
1 officer (1930 2 officers) + 15 crewmen.
Power/Speed:
Single screw; reversible petrol engine, 230bhp/12 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 37mm Model 1885 QF; 2 × 8mm Hotchkiss Model 1914 MG (replaced in the 1930s by 2 × 7.5mm MAC 31 MG).
Fate:
Stricken 1937.
Argus Class River Gunboats (1923)
The second pair of gunboats to bear these names presented a much more cluttered appearance than the original British-built pair, more a collection of jumbled cabins, but probably offering more extensive accommodation than the relatively spartan British design. Their main armament of 75mm APX guns was certainly effective. Unlike the RN version, the guns were mounted on the main deck instead of the superstructure deck.
A pair of gunboats planned to displace 190 tons and make use of existing machinery and fittings manufactured for cancelled vessels, these two ended up, like La Grandière, displacing more than planned. Another factor adding weight was the fitting of armour protection similar to that used on Balny, with the gun shields 7mm thick and proof against rifle fire.
Argus 1924. (Profile drawing by Contre-amiral Bernard Estival)
Argus during her trials, lacking the shields to her 75mm guns.
To avoid the problem of the lack of hull rigidity suffered by Douardt de Lagrée and Balny, their design was copied from the British pair of 1900, but with a squared-off stern in plan view. Also with a view to increasing the hull rigidity, their eleven sections were bolted together for their initial dockyard trials, but when reassembled it was intended that the sections be riveted together. Their twin screws turned in tunnels, but the rear ends were closed by just a vertical sliding flap and no angled flap as in the Yarrow system. To improve draft the funnel was a Pratt type, an inverted cone in side view but enclosed after initial trials in a standard funnel envelope.
The second vessel, Vigilante, was delayed awaiting the results of the trials of the Pratt type funnel on Argus. Vigilante served in Indochina. For details, see Indochina below.
In October 1940 it was decided to transfer Argus to Haiphong in Indochina. Towed by the sloop Tahure, the two vessels ran into a typhoon, and Argus suffered so much damage that she remained unrepaired and was broken up the following year.
Launched:
Argus 9 June 1924; Vigilante June 1924, by Taikoo Dockyard, Hong Kong.
Dimensions:
Displ: 220 tons; L: 51.8m/170ft; B: 7.7m/25ft 3in; D: 1.2m/3ft 11in.
Crew:
42.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; compound steam engines, 550ihp/12 knots.
Guns/Armour:
2 × 75mm Model 1897 QF; 2 × 37mm Model 1885 QF; 4 × MG/8mm bridge; 7mm gun shields; 6mm engine and boiler rooms. Argus 1935: + 81mm Stokes Brandt mortar.
Fate:
Argus stricken 1941; Vigilante scuttled 1945.
Alerte (1925–1931)
Launched in 1916 as a sloop (aviso) of the Ardent class, Alerte was converted to a minesweeper at the end of the Great War. Laid up for several years, she was brought out of retirement in 1924 and re-classified as a Second Class Sloop. In view of the growing conflict in China, on 19 August 1925 she was reclassified as a Gunboat, and sailed for Shanghai. Alerte was to spend the next five years patrolling the Yangtze, on one occasion towing La Grandière, on another acting as a radio communications centre at Itchang when the telegraphs were cut, and being fired on by Chinese troops on one occasion, suffering one man dead and another wounded. Unlike the purpose-built gunboats, Alerte would have had no bulletproof plating to protect her crew from small-arms fire.
Alerte at Saigon.
In 1929 she was re-classified as a Second Class Sloop and in 1931 was at Saigon. She was sold for breaking up in 1935.
Launched:
1916 by Rochefort DY.
Dimensions:
Displ: 310 tons standard; 410 tons full load; L: 60.2m/197ft 6in; B: 7.2m/23ft 7in; D: 2.9m/9ft 6in.
Crew:
55.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; compound steam engines, 2,200ihp/17 knots.
Guns/Armour:
2 × 100mm; MG.
Fate:
Sold 1935.
Francis Garnier River Gunboat (1931)
In the late 1920s the French in China were all too painfully aware of the poor impression made on the local populace by the small number and limited fighting abilities of its river gunboats, in a land where it was so crucial to never ‘lose face’. They therefore decided to begin construction of a large gunboat to impress the locals and at the same time act as flagship for their Yangtze Flotilla.
Launched on 7 December 1927, Francis Garnier was intended to undertake the voyage to the Far East under tow, but before this could take place, it became essential to rectify many defects which had become apparent during her initial trials. Notably the riveting of her hull was poorly executed, and she continually took on water. In addition, her watertight bulkheads proved not to be so. Next she suffered problems with water entering her steam circuits. Lack of watertight integrity was a continuing problem, one blade of a propeller came virtually detached, and then she suffered bolt failures on her port LP steam chest. Overall, her accommodation was very poorly finished.
Despite these serious problems, it was decided to send Francis Garnier to Shanghai under tow by the Dutch tug Java Zee. They left Lorient on 28 August 1929 and arrived at Shanghai on 21 November. The tug and tow had sailed during the monsoon season, so the gunboat suffered considerable external and internal damage en route. Repairs took until February 1930, when new trials took place.
This time it was the ventilation of the machinery spaces which did not function correctly: with an outside temperature a pleasant 24°, the temperature in the boiler room reached 47–49°, and that in the engine room 48–52°. Kiousin Dockyard attempted to effect partial improvements, and a final trail run took place on 8 May 1930.
One has to ponder whether the turbulent gestation period of Francis Garnier resulted from what can only be described as industrial sabotage, certain political opponents of the government of the day striking a blow against colonialism, perhaps? Certainly their Soviet cheerleaders would have approved. Similar (but difficult to prove) ‘sabotage’ would occur once again in May 1940, when of course Adolf Hitler was a friend and ally of Stalin. Then French workers turned out hundreds of brand-new combat aircraft, each one missing a vital but different part such as a propeller, or a radio, or a gunsight, and so on, so whole squadrons of brand-new fighters were discovered by an RAF officer at the end of the Battle of France, immobilised at rear bases.
Francis Garnier under construction at the Chantiers de Blainville in 1927, showing her substantial draught, and the propeller guards. (Photo Chatellerault Archives taken from the Web)
Francis Garnier’s bridge and 75mm AA gun. (Photo Chatellerault Archives taken from the Web)
Inside view of Francis Garnier’s spacious bridge. Note the armour shutters hinged downwards. (Photo Chatellerault Archives taken from the Web)
Francis Garnier – the superb official profile drawing of this handsome but flawed river gunboat.
75mm Modèle 1922 AA gun.
In September 1930 Francis Garnier was twice subject to rifle fire near Hankow, and the second time Chinese artillery also bombar
ded her. In late August 1932 she made her first trip up to Chungking, not without difficulty. On 1 April 1933 she was in collision with the heavy cruiser USS Houston, losing a motor sampan crushed and sunk.
On 11 November 1937, 6 January and 29 April 1938 her crew were the spectators of Japanese air raids on Shanghai and furious aerial combats. Then the Japanese pressure increased, and she left Shanghai on 17 September 1941, just a few weeks before the surprise Japanese attack on HMS Peterel.
Based in Haiphong in Tonkin, on the night of 9 March 1945, Francis Garnier was moored on the Mekong River at Kratié. During the sudden Japanese attack on the Vichy French forces, she was sabotaged by her own crew. The wreck burned for two days.
Launched:
7 December 1927 by Chantiers de Blainville, Caen.
Dimensions:
Displ: 640 tons; L: 62.5m/205ft; B: 10.3m/33ft 9½in; D: 2.2m/7ft 2½in.
Crew:
103.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; VTE steam engines, 3,200ihp/15 knots.
Guns/Armour:
2 × 100mm Model 1917; 1 × 75mm Model 1922 AA; 2 × 37mm Model 1925 QF; 4 × MG/Bulletproof plating.
Fate:
Scuttled 9 March 1945.
FRENCH GUYANA
Eridan
The first iron vessel built for the French Navy, designed by Cavé. Sent to Guyana but totally unsuitable for that station due to her excessive draught.
Launched:
1843 by Saint-Ouen.
Dimensions:
Displ: 203 tons; L: 40m/131ft 3in; B: 7m/23ft; D: 1.75m/5ft 9in.
Power/Speed:
Side paddle wheels; steam engine 60 nominal hp.
Guns/Armour:
2 × cannons.
Fate:
August 1846 struck rock and sank in Oyapock River.
Oyapock
Wooden gunboat designed for Guyana by Courbebaisse.
Launched:
1852 by Brest DY.
Dimensions:
Displ: Displ: 96 tons; L: 22m/72ft 2in: B: 5.06m/16ft 7in; D: 1.34m/4ft 5in.
Crew:
25.
Power/Speed:
Side paddle wheels; steam engine, 20 nominal hp/6.4 knots.
Guns/Armour:
2 × howitzers.
Fate:
Stricken December 1864.
Économe Class
Wooden gunboats designed by Sabattier specifically for the rivers in Guyana.
Launched:
Économe and Surveillant 1855 by Rochefort DY.
Dimensions:
Displ: 69 tons; L: 42.6m/139ft 8in; B: 5m/16ft 5in; D: 1.3m/4ft 3in.
Crew:
20-26.
Power/Speed:
Side paddle wheels; steam engine, 25 nominal hp/7 knots.
Guns/Armour:
4 × small swivel guns.
Fate:
Surveillant stricken 1868; Économe 1873.
Serpent 1870
Iron gunboat, station ship for Guyana 1876–8.
Launched:
1871 by Nantes DY.
Dimensions:
Displ: 250 tons.
Crew:
20–26.
Power/Speed:
Side paddle wheels; steam engine, 30 nominal hp/7.34 knots.
Guns/Armour:
2 × cannons.
Fate:
Stricken February 1880.
1859 Arc Type River Gunboats Nos 14 and 21
For details see Indochina below.
INDOCHINA
Tonkin Flotilla and Cochinchina Gunboats
Arc Type River Gunboats Nos 12–31 1859
They were built and transported in fifteen separate sections to be bolted together, watertight integrity being assured by having the plates of each section overlap the next, with a strip of rubber between the two plates. To aid navigating in small rivers, they were fitted with a bow rudder.
Twenty vessels were built in total, numbered from 12 to 31, and each was later given a name in 1866–7, apart from Nos 25 and 26, lost previously.
No 14, renamed Sainte-Anne, was used at the Cayenne penal colony, as was No 21, Sainte-Marie. In 1870 Sainte-Marie towed the aviso Économe loaded with sugar-processing machines and boilers, from La Jamaïque to St Maurice on the Approuague River in the penal colony of Maroni.
No 15, later Étoile, was used for exploration in China, and was stationed on the Yangtze. The remaining seventeen vessels were used in Cochinchina.
No less than four sank after boiler explosions, and two were lost while under tow.
Launched:
1860 by FCM, La Seyne.
Dimensions:
Displ: 90 tons; L: 25.54m/83ft 10in; B: 4.4m/14ft 5in; D: 1.42m/4ft 8in.
Crew:
20–26.
Power/Speed:
Single screw; steam engine, 64ihp/8 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 164mm Mle 1858 BL.
Fate:
First two scrapped in 1870; last in 1892.
Sectional River Gunboats Nos 32–39 (Hache Class) 1862
The next series of iron river gunboats built and transported in sections for colonial use were the Hache class, initially given numbers from 32 to 39 then given names (of weapons) in 1866: No 32 became Hache, No 33 Hallebarde, No 34 Harpon, No 35 Javeline, No 36 Massue, No 37 Mousqueton, No 38 Sagaie, and No 39 Yataghan. No 39 was transported to Indochina in 1863 on board L’Etoile. She joined the Tonkin Flotilla in June 1883. Stricken in 1885, she was broken up in 1889.
No 39 renamed Yataghan. (Photo Docteur Hacquard)
Sectional river gunboats designed by Dupuy de Lôme for use in Cochinchina.
Launched:
1862 by FCM, La Seyne.
Dimensions:
Displ: 95 tons; L: 26.3m/86ft 3in; B: 4.9m/16ft 1in; D: 1.4m/4ft 7in.
Crew:
26.
Power/Speed:
Single screw; steam engine, 18 nominal hp.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 164mm Mle 1858 BL; 2 × 37mm Hotchkiss revolver cannons.
Fate:
First of class stricken 1880, Yataghan in 1889, last in 1894.
Surprise 1863
A Second Class Gunboat of the original Décidée class, designed by Jules Aurous. Their flat-bottomed wooden hulls meant they were unsuited for open sea work.
Launched:
19 February 1863 by Toulon DY.
Dimensions:
Displ: 390 tons; L: 39.56m/129ft 9in; B: 6.72m/22ft 1in; D: 2.44m/8ft.
Power/Speed:
Single screw; steam engine 180ihp/8.19 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 164mm Mle 1858 BL; ? 37m Hotchkiss revolver cannons.
Fate:
Stricken 1885, broken up 1887.
The gunboat Surprise, in one of Docteur Hocquard’s photos.
Fanfare. Note her tripod masts.
Fanfare 1868
Wooden hull, coppered.
Launched:
1868 by Chantiers de l’Océan, Bordeaux.
Dimensions:
Displ: 500 tons; L: 43.45m/142ft 7in; B: 7.4m/24ft 3in; D: 2.5m/8ft 2in.
Crew:
70.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; steam engine, 280ihp/9.7 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1868: 1 × 19cm Mle 1864; 1 × 12cm field gun; 2 × 4cm mountain guns. 1881: 1 × 14cm; 1 × 10cm; 2 × 37mm Hotchkiss revolver cannons.
Fate:
Stricken 1891.
Vipère (1874)
Launched:
1874 by Rochefort DY.
Dimensions:
Displ: 465 tons.
Power/Speed:
Single screw; compound steam engine.
Guns/Armour:
2 × 12cm?; 1 × 19cm on the bow?; 2 × 37mm Hotchkiss revolver cannons?
Fate:
Broken up 1896?
French gunboats attacking Black Flag forces in 1884. The vessel on the left fits the profile of gunboat Vipère of
the Crocodile class (1874). (After a sketch published in L’Illustration of 16 February 1884)
Pluvier.
Pluvier 1880
Designed for use in Senegal, instead she was sent to Indochina, and was one of the flotilla which sailed up the Red River in December 1882 in the French invasion of Tonkin. Pluvier used her two Hotchkiss revolver cannons mounted in her fighting top to great effect against the Black Flag troops.
Launched:
1880 by Cherbourg DY.
Dimensions:
Displ: 500 tons; L: 50m/164ft; B: 7.5m/24ft 7in; D: 1.83m/6ft.
Crew:
40.
Power/Speed:
Side paddle wheels; 2 × 2-cyl compound steam engines 420ihp.
Guns/Armour:
2 × 164mm Mle 1858 BL; 2 × 37mm Hotchkiss revolver cannons.
Fate:
Sold into commercial service 1898.
Armed river steamer Yun-nan at Hanoi Quay. She appears to be armed with a pair of 37mm Hotchkiss revolver cannons on the front bridge wings.
A painting of the Farcy class gunboat Revolver in Indochina. Even though her armour protection does not yet cover the whole length of the hull, it is still a vast improvement on the ‘saloon’ arrangement of Farcy’s cabins on the Pont d’Alma. Note also the small conning tower which has replaced the gun mounting shown in the illustration of her sister in Paris. (Image via Paul Malmassari)
In October 1884 Revolver runs the gauntlet of the Black Flag defences at Yu Oc on the Claire River in October 1884, on a supply run to the French outpost of Tuyên Quang, where her sister Mitrailleuse was supporting the besieged defenders. Revolver had previously had to use her ram bow to break through a Black Flag barrier on the river. At Yu Oc she suffered casualties of two men killed and three wounded including her commanding officer. Note how the side plating has been extended to provide more protection against small-arms fire.