Bougainville-class aviso

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300px
Rigault de Genouilly in 1938
Class overview
Name: Bougainville class
Operators:  French Navy
Built: 1929–39
In commission: 1933–59
Planned: 10
Completed: 8
Cancelled: 1
Lost: 6
Scrapped: 3
General characteristics
Type: Aviso
Displacement:
Length: 103.70 metres (340 ft 3 in) (o/a)
Beam: 12.7 metres (41 ft 8 in)
Draught: 4.15 metres (13 ft 7 in)
Installed power: 2,100-or-2,191-metric-horsepower (1,545 or 1,611 kW; 2,071 or 2,161 shp)
Propulsion: 2 shafts; 2 diesel engines
Speed: 15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph)
Range: 9,000 nmi (17,000 km; 10,000 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement:
  • 14 officers and 121 crewmen in peacetime;
  • 166 or 183 men in wartime
Armament:
Aircraft carried: 1 Gourdou-Leseurre GL-832 HY floatplane

The Bougainville class was a group of colonial avisos, or sloops, built for the French Navy during the 1930s. They were designed to operate in the remote locations of the French Empire.

Design and description

File:Bougainville class sloop.svg
Layout

The Bougainville-class avisos were intended for colonial service abroad in austere conditions. Endurance was one of the primary considerations as were living conditions in tropical climates for the crew. The ships also had to accommodate an admiral and his staff as they could serve as the flagship for the overseas divisions of the French Navy. The designers selected economical diesel engines to power the ships to satisfy the endurance requirements. To help them patrol the large areas that they would be responsible for, the navy elected to equip them with a small, lightweight, reconnaissance aircraft, the Gourdou-Leseurre GL-832 HY floatplane. The ships were equipped with air conditioning throughout and the crew's living spaces were insulated as well.[1]

They had an overall length of 103.7 metres (340 ft 3 in), a beam of 12.7 metres (41 ft 8 in), and a draught of 4.15 metres (13 ft 7 in). The ships displaced 1,969 long tons (2,001 t) at standard load and 2,600 tonnes (2,600 long tons) at deep load. The hull was subdivided by 10 transverse bulkheads into 11 watertight compartments. Their crew consisted of 14 officers and 121 ratings in peacetime.[2]

The Bougainville class was powered by a pair of license-built, six-cylinder diesel engines that drove three-bladed propellers. Most of the ships had 2,191-metric-horsepower (1,611 kW; 2,161 shp), four-stroke Burmeister & Wain units, but Dumont d'Urville, Savorgnan de Brazza and D'Iberville had 2,100 PS (1,500 kW; 2,100 shp), two-stroke engines built by Sulzer. The Burmeister & Wain ships had 2.8-metre (9 ft 2 in) propellers while the others were 3.15 metres (10 ft 4 in) in diameter. The ships were designed to reach a normal speed of Lua error in Module:Convert at line 272: attempt to index local 'cat' (a nil value). and 16.4 knots (30.4 km/h; 18.9 mph) at maximum. During her sea trials in July 1932, Bougainville reached a maximum speed of 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph). The ships carried 260 metric tons (256 long tons) of diesel fuel which gave them a range of 9,000 nautical miles (17,000 km; 10,000 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph). The ships were fitted with three diesel generators in the engine room. The Burmeister & Wain ships had 85-kilowatt (114 hp), four-stroke, MAN units while the Sulzer ships used 120-kilowatt (160 hp), two-stroke, generators from the same manufacturer. Forward of the engine room was the auxiliary boiler room that was equipped with a pair of Riley vertical boilers rated at 10 kg/cm2 (981 kPa; 142 psi). In addition, two 22-kilowatt (30 hp), four-cylinder, Bettus-Loire emergency diesel generators were located in the forward superstructure.[3]

Armament

The Bougainville-class ships were armed with three 40-caliber Canon de 138.6-millimetre (5.46 in) mle 1927 guns in single mounts, one superfiring pair forward of the superstructure and the third gun atop the aft superstructure.[4] The mounts had a range of elevation from -10° to +28°, which gave the gun a range of 16,600 meters (18,200 yd) at maximum elevation,. They fired 40.6-kilogram (90 lb) projectiles at a muzzle velocity of 700 m/s (2,300 ft/s) at a rate of five to six rounds per minute.[5] The fore and aft magazines had a total capacity of 785 shells. The ships were fitted with a 3-metre (9 ft 10 in) Mle 1932 coincidence rangefinder that fed data to the type aviso mechanical fire-control computer.[6]

The anti-aircraft armament of the Chacal class consisted of four 50-caliber Canon de 37 mm (1.5 in) Mle 1925 light AA gun guns in single mounts.[7] Their 0.725-kilogram (1.60 lb) shells were fired at a muzzle velocity of 850 m/s (2,800 ft/s). The guns had a range of 14,100 meters (15,400 yd) and a ceiling of about 10,000 meters (33,000 ft). They had a rate of fire of 30–42 rounds per minute.[8] The ships carried about 350 rounds for each gun. The Bougainville class was fitted with mine rails, one set on each side of the aft superstructure to allow them to lay defensive minefields. They could carry 50 535-kilogram (1,179 lb) Breguet B4 mines or a smaller number of the 1,100-kilogram (2,400 lb) Harlé H4 mines. They were also fitted with four minesweeping paravanes on the quarterdeck.[9]

Service history

Eight of the Bougainville-class avisos were commissioned, the two remaining ships (Le Beautemps-Beaupré and La Pérouse) were still under construction during the Fall of France. Le Beautemps-Beaupré was scuttled in the Gironde Estuary on 24 June 1940.[10]

The ships of the Bougainville class had varied careers that were typical of French Naval ships of the period and were torn between the Free French Naval Forces and Navy of Vichy France. With the ships of Vichy France being hunted by both the Axis and Allies at different times during the war.

On 9 November 1940 there was a rare case of fratricide between two ships of the same class when Bougainville, lead ship of the class and loyal to the Vichy government, fought her sister ship Savorgnan de Brazza, who served in the FNFL.[11] This battle happened off of Libreville, during the Battle of Gabon. After a short exchange of fire Savorgnan de Brazza had reduced Bougainville to a wreck and forced her to beach to avoid sinking. Bougainville later foundered in March 1941 during a re-floating operation.[12]

Dumont d'Urville and Amiral Charner took part in the Battle of Koh Chang on 17 January 1941.

La Grandière was extensively modernised in 1944. Her anti-aircraft armament was replaced with 40 mm Bofors and 20 mm Oerlikon guns, and new anti-submarine armament of (4 depth charge throwers and 6 depth charge rails, with 66 charges) was installed. She also received two radars and a sonar.

Four ships survived the war and served during the Indochina War and in the Korean War.

Ships

Ship Namesake Builder Launched Fate
Bougainville Louis Antoine de Bougainville FC de la Gironde 25 April 1931[13] Sunk, 9 November 1940[13]
Amiral Charner Léonard Charner AC Maritime de Sud Ouest 1 October 1932[13] Scuttled, 10 March 1945[13]
Dumont d'Urville Jules Dumont d'Urville AC Maritime de Sud Ouest 21 March 1931[13] Broken up, 26 March 1958[13]
D'Entrecasteaux Antoine Bruni d'Entrecasteaux AC de Provence 22 June 1931[14] Broken up, 19 October 1948[14]
La Grandière (ex-Ville d'Ys)[13] [[{{{1}}}]][] AC de Provence 22 June 1939[14] Broken up, 23 November 1959[14]
D'Iberville Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville AC Maritime de Sud Ouest 23 September 1934[14] Scuttled with the Vichy French fleet in Toulon, 27 November 1942[14]
Rigault de Genouilly Charles Rigault de Genouilly FC de la Gironde 18 September 1932[14] Sunk by HMS Pandora, 4 July 1940[14]
Savorgnan de Brazza Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza AC Maritime de Sud Ouest 18 June 1931[14] Broken up, 20 March 1957[14]
Le Beautemps-Beaupré Charles-François Beautemps-Beaupré FC de la Gironde 24 June 1939[13] Scuttled, 24 June 1940[13]
La Pérouse Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse FC de la Gironde Never laid down Cancelled, 24 June 1940

Notes

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Sources

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External links

  1. ↑ Jordan 2016, pp. 9–12, 20.
  2. ↑ Jordan 2016, pp. 10, 14.
  3. ↑ Jordan 2016, pp. 10, 15.
  4. ↑ Jordan 2016, pp. 10–11.
  5. ↑ Campbell 1985, p. 298.
  6. ↑ Jordan 2016, p. 17.
  7. ↑ Chesneau 1980, p. 276.
  8. ↑ Campbell 1985, p. 308.
  9. ↑ Jordan 2016, pp. 17–18.
  10. ↑ Le Masson 1969, pp. 9–12.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 13.7 13.8 Le Masson 1969, p. 12.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 14.6 14.7 14.8 14.9 Le Masson 1969, p. 13.
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