by River Gunboats- An Illustrated Encyclopaedia (retail) (epub)
Large Stern-Wheeler Gunboat Éclair
Éclair, in the well-known photo taken by Docteur Hocquard in 1884–5, was probably converted from a river steamer. She appears to be armed with four 37mm Hotchkiss revolver cannons in a curious square armoured box in front of her bridge, which does not seem to allow ahead fire.
Arquebuse Class Double-Enders 1883
More than a dozen of these double-ended sectional gunboats were designed in 1883, for use in Tonkin and also Madagascar. Six were transported to Tonkin in the summer of 1884: Arquebuse, Alerte, Avalanche, Bourrasque, Mutine and Rafale. In early 1885 they were joined by Casse-tête and Estoc.
Launched:
1884 by Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire, Saint Nazaire.
Dimensions:
Displ: 112 tons; L: 30m/98ft 5in; B: 5m/16ft 5in; D: 1.12m/3ft 8in.
Crew:
49.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; 2 × steam engines, 70ihp (Rafale and Estoc 90ihp)/8 knots.
Guns/Armour:
2 × 90mm Model 1881; 4 × 37mm Hotchkiss revolver cannons/Bulletproof plating.
Fate:
The last in service was Estoc, scrapped 1911.
The Arquebuse class as originally designed. (Chatellerault Archives on the Web)
Mutine seen in 1890, with additional side plating and only one fighting mast, the fighting top of the second mast being re-positioned on the roof of the rear cabin, probably as a weight trade-off against the additional armour. Also she has a raised armoured conning position, not shown on the design drawing.
Details of the 90mm De Bange System gun, showing the separate shell and bagged charge, and the breech obturator pad. (Drawing by Cédric Vaubourg, www.fortiffsere.fr, from an original in an official manual for artillery officers)
Henri Rivière Class 1884
Eight new gunboats were designed at the request of Admiral Courbet specifically to penetrate the Tonkin Delta to pursue the Black Flag forces. Six of the class were sent to Tonkin in 1884: Francis Garnier, Colonel Carreau, Henri Rivière, Berthe de Villers, Jacquin and Moulun.
Moulun circa 1900, with additional lateral armour protection on the main and upper deck levels. The main 90mm guns fore and aft now have substantial shields, as does the revolver cannon in the fighting top.
Profile drawing which appeared in MRB Magazine No 274 of May 1986. Copies of the full set of plans are available at http://librairie-hussard.com/catalog. (Plan courtesy of Benoît at MRB)
Launched:
1884 by the Claparède Works, Lorient.
Dimensions:
Displ: 200 tons; L: 37.4m/122ft 8in; B: 7.42m/24ft 4in; D: 0.86m/2ft 10in.
Crew:
51.
Power/Speed:
Stern paddle wheels; steam engines 2 × 36 nominal hp.
Guns/Armour:
2 × 90mm Model 1881; 4 × 37mm Hotchkiss revolver cannons/Vertical bullet-proof plating to decks, engine room, gun shields, fighting top.
Fate:
Stricken circa 1900.
Achéron
Plans of the Achéron class. (Courtesy of Benoît at MRB)
Achéron Class Armoured Gunboats 1888
While basically intended as coast-defence armoured gunboats for foreign stations, the depth of the river allowed Achéron and her sister-ship Styx to make several visits up the Mekong as far as Pnom-Penh.
Launched:
Achéron 25 April 1885, Styx 22 August 1891, by Cherbourg DY.
Dimensions:
Displ: 1,639 tons (Achéron), 1,789 tons (Styx) ; L: 55.59m/182ft 5in (Achéron), L: 59.22m/194ft 4in (Styx); B: 12.3m/40ft 4in; D: 3.6m/11ft 10in.
Crew:
30.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; 2 × 2-cyl compound steam engines, 1,700ihp/10.2 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 27cm in fore turret; Achéron: 2 × 10cm on side sponsons; Styx: 1 × 138.6mm at the stern; 2 × 47mm Hotchkiss QF; 4 × 37mm Hotchkiss revolver cannons/Turret 200mm; 200mm Belt.
Fate:
Achéron scrapped 1913; Styx 1919.
Chaloupe-canonnières La Grandière and Massie 1893
On 30 July 1893 the two specialised river gunboats, La Grandière and Massie arrived at Saigon on board the steamer Ironopolis. They had been ordered for service on the upper reaches of the Mekong River, with the dual task of exploring the river and protecting French interests in an area claimed by Siam.
They had been built in five separate sections for transport overseas. In Saigon they were reassembled and armed, and were despatched 700km (435 miles) up river to the foot of the Khône Falls. These comprise many rapids where the waters of the Mekong descend some 15m over shelves up to a kilometre wide. The falls presented an unsurmountable barrier to river navigation. The French, however, were determined to dominate and exploit the upper reaches of the Mekong, and on Khône Island they constructed a Decauville narrow-gauge railway track just 1,800m in length, passing over one bridge to Det Island, and ending at the shore of the upper basin of the Falls.
In order to gain as much time as possible, or more likely in order to have the gunboats arrive on the upper Mekong in fighting trim, it was decided not to separate them into their five sections, but to try to carry them in one piece. Due to the need to change the landing point initially chosen for one more suitable, the lengths of track available now proved to be insufficient, so Massie had to be halted at intervals to allow the track just passed over to be lifted and placed in front. As a result, she was moved at just 309m a day by the labouring coolies. Massie finally arrived at the north basin on 1 November 1893 and was relaunched successfully, but La Grandière had been delayed by the need to effect repairs, and was unable to follow until September of 1894.
La Grandière (foreground) and Massie on the Mekong at Tha-Këk in November 1894. (Photo Georges Eugène Simon, Gallica, Bibliothèque National de France)
La Grandière on rails in order to pass the Mekong rapids at Khône. The carrier trolley was 19m long and 3m wide, mounted on fourteen wheels, capable of carrying a load of 35 tons.
From 1895 until 1910 La Grandière patrolled the disputed waters of the Mekong. Then on 15 July 1910, she was returning from a mission to the Laotian capital, carrying General de Baylié, when she struck a rock in the Mekong and sank with the loss of five men, including the General and Dr Ruffiandis, chief medical officer for Laos. As General de Baylié was known to be an ardent collector of artefacts and works of art wherever he travelled, a legend has grown up around the tragedy, to the effect that La Grandière is supposed to have taken to the bottom with her a collection of valuable objects. One Website even suggests that the objects were looted from a royal palace, and carried a curse on whoever might steal them! Recently there have been several expeditions mounted with the aim of recovering the supposed lost treasures, but so far without success. Such rumours are a slur on the memory and achievements of General de Baylié, who as well as being an accomplished career soldier was a keen archaeologist and preserver of cultural heritage, and made regular donations of his purchases and finds to the Museum of Grenoble, for all to share.
If a photo reproduced on the front page of L’Illustration of 23 July 1910 shows La Grandière correctly, then by 1910 she had gained topweight, having a roof to the upper deck level, a navigating bridge, and a taller funnel. In a distant photo, her sister Massie can be seen carrying what appears to be a 37mm Hotchkiss revolver cannon on the front part of the upper deck. La Grandière’s five separate sections would have acted as excellent watertight sub-divisions, so a report of her striking a snag, or treetrunk, can be dismissed. It is more likely that she gashed her hull on a rock, opening up more than one compartment, Titanic fashion. Rapidly filling, her increased topweight would have led to her capsizing. In fact, the body of the General was discovered by divers three days after the sinking, trapped in her overturned hull. Suffice to say that if any treasure had been carried on board, it would have been retrieved at the same time.
Laun
ched:
La Grandière 8 June 1893, Massie 10 June 1893 by Dubigeon, Chantenay-sur-Loire.
Dimensions:
Displ: 26.18 tons; L: 25.2m/82ft 8in; B: 3.3m/10ft 10in; D: 0.7m/2ft 4in.
Crew:
7 Europeans + 7 Annamites.
Power/Speed:
Single screw; 2-cyl compound steam engine 120ihp/10.5 knots.
Guns/Armour:
3 × 37mm Model 1885 QF. Later (Massie) + 1 × 37mm Hotchkiss revolver cannon.
Fate:
La Grandière sunk 15 July 1910; Massie stricken 1910.
Vigilante, Argus Class River Gunboat (1924)
Vigilante was reassembled in Hong Kong and served in Indochina. Her foremast was offset to port, and could be hinged flat to pass under low bridges on the Red River. On 25 February 1944 she was damaged in an American air attack. Repaired in Haiphong, she was scuttled there during the Japanese attack on the Vichy French forces on 9 March 1945. One report has her salvaged post-war for mercantile service. For details see Chia, Argus Class (1923) above.
Class C-106 Commandant Bourdais and Avalanche
French sub-chasers designed during the Great War, re-designated as river gunboats in 1938 and stationed in Indochina. The former C-111, later CH-111, was finally renamed Commandant Bourdais. Her sister-ship C-112 became CH-112, then Avalanche. Both were lost during the Japanese attack on the Vichy French forces on 9 March 1945, Commandant Bourdais being scuttled by her own crew and Avalanche sunk by gunfire from the sloop Amiral Charner after the Japanese had taken her crew prisoner. Refloated at the end of the war, Avalanche was finally stricken in January 1951.
Launched:
1919 by A.C. Dubigeon, Nantes.
Dimensions:
Displ: 133 tons standard; 150 tons full load; L: 43.4m/142ft 4½in; B: 5.2m/17ft; D: 2.4m/7ft 10½in.
Crew:
31.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; VTE steam engines, 1,300ihp/16.5 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 75mm Model 1897 QF; 2 × 8mm MG.
Fate:
Lost 9 March 1945.
Commandant Bourdais.
Mytho showing her fighting top, and the rungs to climb the mast to access it.
Mytho Class River Gunboats (1933–1936)
Mytho and Tourane were the last traditional river gunboats designed for service in Indochina. Compared with the earlier La Grandière on the Upper Yangtze these small gunboats had twin screws for manoeuvrability, and were powered by diesel engines with far less risk of fire and explosion. Both were lost during the sudden Japanese attack on the Vichy French forces on 9 March 1945. Mytho was captured by Japanese forces and shelled by Amiral Charner at Mytho and Tourane was scuttled by her crew on the River Donaï.
Launched:
Mytho 1933, Tourane 1936, by the Saigon Arsenal.
Dimensions:
Displ: 95 tons standard; 110 tons full load; L: 40m/131ft 3in; B: 8m/26ft 3in; D: 0.8m/2ft 7½in.
Crew:
36.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; diesel engines, 800bhp/13 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 75mm Model 1897 QF; 1 × 47mm Hotchkiss Model 1885 QF; 2 × 8mm MG; 1 × 81mm mortar.
Fate:
Sunk 9 March 1945.
FIRST WORLD WAR GUNBOATS FOR CANALS AND RIVERS
The Seine Flotilla, September 1914
Recalling no doubt the work of the Seine Flotilla of 1870 during the previous German invasion of France, on 2 August 1914 the Minister of the Navy decided to set up an armed flotilla on the Seine, the Oise and the Marne. On 1 September the rapid German advance led to the plan being suspended, but five days later it was reinstated at the request of General Gallieni, Military Governor of Paris.
The flotilla was ready for action on 18 September. It comprised eleven Seine tugboats, each armed with a 47mm QF Hotchkiss cannon at the stern and up to four 37mm QF Hotchkiss Model 1885 single-barrelled guns, of the type being fitted to the first armoured cars. The flotilla was crewed by 12 officers and 374 men.
An old postcard, showing a small river tug armed with a 47mm QF on the stern and two 37mm Model 1885 single-barrelled QF on the bows, with the only protection provided by the small gunshields, seen moored at Lagny on the River Marne in October 1914.
In October, Gallieni asked for larger tugboats, capable of carrying a 100mm gun, but the Navy advised that these tug-boats would draw too much to be used upstream of Paris, and his request was withdrawn. The Flotilla was disbanded in December 1914.
Armed Péniches
In 1914 the French Army had planned to win the war of movement thanks to their 75mm Model 1897 QF field gun. Once the conflict on the Western Front settled down into trench warfare, the ‘soixante-quinze’ lost much of its advantage and relevance, and the preponderance of heavy Krupp howitzers on the German side became all too apparent. As the Royal Navy was prepared to take the major role in the naval campaign, this allowed the French to lay up and disarm many of their older warships, thus freeing up their QF high-velocity guns to try to match the German heavy artillery on land. Initially several large-calibre naval guns were mounted on canal barges, some of which were unpowered. In the Verdun region these unpowered barges were towed into and out of position by Belgian canal tugs.
The first armed barges used in 1914 were Alsace-Lorraine and Jean Gouin, quickly followed by Marne, Sambre and Creuse. In 1916 three more barges were armed with larger-calibre naval guns, up to 19cm: Jeanne d’Arc, Marcelle (later sunk and replaced by Marcelle II) and Saverne. These three continued in use until the Armistice, and then joined the Rhine Flotilla.
A canal barge (‘péniche’) armed with a 138mm naval gun. To obtain more elevation and thus range, the barges were fitted with transverse light railway sections on their decks, over which ballast wagons could be moved from side to side, inducing a list.
Possibly a view of two armed péniches on the Rhine after the Armistice. Note the panels which folded down to form wider gun platforms.
Type ‘A’ river gunboats (1915)
In addition to the unprotected barges, it was felt desirable to produce new armoured gunboats for use on the rivers and canals of Northern France. At first the plans of the China gunboat Balny were examined, but soon discarded, and instead the Navy rapidly designed and built two series of new gunboats to plans originally drawn up during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1.
The Type ‘A’ gunboats were armed with a single 138mm high-velocity gun, taken from naval reserves, on a mounting modified to give greater elevation and therefore range. For anti-balloon and anti-aircraft protection they carried a pair of 47mm QF guns, again on mountings specially modified for high elevation. Note in the photo of the stern of Gunboat ‘A’ that she also carried a pair of 37mm revolver cannons, which had proved their worth mounted on colonial gunboats for clearing river banks with their high rate of fire (up to 40 rpm). Normal close-in armament was a pair of 8mm Model 1907 Saint-Etienne machine guns.
Their hulls were of 5mm thick plate, reinforced at the water-line by appliqué 7mm plates. This extra protection was extended to the sides and roof of the engine room. The conning tower was protected by 20mm armour plate except where its lower sides covered by the hull plates were only 10mm thick.
Gunboat A with twin funnels. Only she and Gunboat B had these, the remainder having a single funnel. Note the buffer at the bow to protect the bow rudder.
View of the stern of Gunboat A showing her solid propeller guards, and two 37mm Hotchkiss revolver cannons.
Gunboat B, known by her crew as La Brutale, again with twin funnels. The 138mm gun is impressive on such a small vessel.
Drawing of Type ‘A’: Gunboats C, D, F, G, H and I with a single funnel. (Courtesy of Marc Sabiène, Marines Magazine No 58)
The machinery was either a pair of steam engines intended for naval launches, or a single torpedo boat engine. A bow rudder and a projecting protective buffer were fitted for going astern in narrow river and cana
l confines.
These gunboats continued to provide valuable fire support up until December 1917, when the Front had moved out of range of their guns, and the Army had begun to receive significant numbers of large-calibre field guns and howitzers. The gunboats were withdrawn to the naval ports and laid up. Four of them (C, G, H and I) would be reactivated after the war for service with the Rhine flotilla.
Launched:
May/July 1915 A, B, F and I by Brest DY; C, D, G and H by Lorient DY.
Dimensions:
Displ: 103.5 tons; L: 27.54m/90ft 4in (A, B, C and D), L: 28.7m/94ft 2in (F, G, H and I); B: 4.8m/15ft 9in; D: 1.1m/3ft 7in.
Crew:
1 officer + 25 men.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws (except F and I: single screw); steam engine(s), 110ihp/9 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 138mm Model 1887/1891/1893; 2 × 47mm QF Model 1895/1902 AA; 2 × 8mm MG/Hull of 5mm thick plates; Waterline and engine room sides and roof + 7mm; Conning tower lower +10mm; upper 20mm; Gun shields 20mm.
Fate:
Stricken between 1918 and 1930.
Type ‘K’ River Gunboats (1915)
The second series of armoured gunboats for the rivers and canals of Northern France were somewhat larger than the first batch, with a single screw and no bow rudder. They were intended ultimately for service on the Rhine, where their increased draught and lack of the second rudder would be of minor significance. They were more heavily armed, with two 100mm guns, and to give them some protection from shell fire they had an inclined internal armoured deck, a smaller version of the classic design of contemporary protected cruiser.