French battleship Iéna (1898)
| File:Iéna.JPG Iéna in March 1907 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Iéna class |
| Operators: |  French Navy |
| Preceded by: | Henri IV |
| Succeeded by: | Suffren |
| Built: | 1898–1902 |
| In service: | 1902–1907 |
| Completed: | 1 |
| Lost: | 1 |
| Career (France) |  |
| Namesake: | Battle of Jena-Auerstedt |
| Ordered: | 3 April 1897 |
| Builder: | Brest shipyard |
| Laid down: | 15 January 1898 |
| Launched: | 1 September 1898 |
| Completed: | 14 April 1902 |
| Decommissioned: | 3 July 1907 |
| Fate: | Magazine explosion on 12 March 1907. Sunk as target ship on 2 December 1909. Sold for scrap in 1912. |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Pre-dreadnought battleship |
| Displacement: |
11,688 tonnes (11,503 long tons) (designed) 12,105 tonnes (11,914 long tons) (full load) |
| Length: | 122.35 m (401 ft 5 in) |
| Beam: | 20.83 m (68 ft 4 in) |
| Draught: | 8.45 m (27 ft 9 in) |
| Installed power: | 16,500 ihp (12,300 kW) |
| Propulsion: |
3 shafts, 3 vertical triple expansion steam engines 20 Belleville water-tube boilers |
| Speed: | 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) |
| Range: | 4,500 nautical miles (8,330 km; 5,180 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement: | 701 |
| Armament: |
2 × 2 - Canon de 305 mm Modèle 1893/96 gun guns |
| Armour: |
Belt: 230–320 mm (9.1–13 in) Decks: 80 mm (3.1 in) Ammunition shafts: 250 mm (9.8 in) Turrets: 278–318 mm (10.9–12.5 in) |
Iéna was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the French Navy. Her design was derived from the preceding Charlemagne class battleships with a heavier secondary battery and thicker armour. She retained the tumblehome characteristic of all large French warships of this period that caused stability issues. She was destroyed in drydock on 12 March 1907 by a magazine explosion caused by the decomposition of well-aged "Powder B" propellant. Her hulk was used as a gunnery target before it was sold for scrap in 1912.
Contents
Design
She was designed at the request of the Conseil des travaux to follow the Charlemagne class ships whose seakeeeping qualities weren't entirely satisfactory. But Constructor Thibaudier just modified the Charlemagne's design with a heavier secondary battery and thicker armour, distributed in a slightly different manner. This increased her displacement by 700 tonnes in comparison to the older ships and she retained the pronounced tumblehome that was the cause of the stability problems.[1]
General characteristics
The Iéna was longer than her predecessors, at 122.35 m (401 ft 5 in) overall. She had a beam of 20.83 m (68 ft 4 in) and at full load a draft of 7.45 m (24 ft 5 in) forward and 8.45 m (27.7 ft) aft. She was only slightly heavier than the Charlemagne class and displaced 11,688 metric tons (11,503 long tons) normally, and 12,105 metric tons (11,910 long tons) at full load, only 700 metric tons (700 long tons) more than the earlier ships.[1]
Iéna was fitted with large bilge keels, but was reported to roll considerably and pitch heavily,[2] although this is contradicted by the ship's captain's report of November 1905: "From the sea-keeping point of view the Iéna is an excellent ship. Pitching and rolling movements are gentle and the ship rides the waves well."[3]
Propulsion
Iéna used three vertical triple expansion steam engines built by Les Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée, one engine per shaft. Each shaft drove a three-bladed screw propeller that was 4.5 m (14 ft 9 in) in diameter on the wing shafts and 4.4 m (14 ft 5 in) in diameter on the center shaft. The engines were powered by twenty Belleville water-tube boilers. The engines were rated at 16,500 indicated horsepower (12,300 kW) and produced 16,590 ihp (12,370 kW) and gave a top speed of 18.11 knots (33.54 km/h; 20.84 mph) on trials. The ship carried a maximum of 1,165 metric tons (1,147 long tons) of coal which allowed her to steam for 4,500 nautical miles (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). The ship's 80 V electrical power was provided by 600-ampere and 1200-ampere dynamos.[1]
Armament
Like the Charlemagne class which preceded her, the Iéna carried her main armament of four 305 mm (12.0 in), 40-calibre Canon de 305 mm Modèle 1893/96 guns in two twin-gun turrets, one each fore and aft. The guns could probably be depressed to −5° and elevated to 15°. The guns fired 340-kilogram (750 lb) projectiles at the rate of 1 round per minute at a muzzle velocity of 780 m/s (2,600 ft/s) which gave a range of 12,000 metres (13,000 yd) at maximum elevation. The magazines stored 180 shells per gun, enough for three hours of fighting.[1]
The ship's secondary armament consisted of eight 45-calibre Canon de 164 mm Modèle 1893 guns, which were mounted in individual casemates. The guns fired 164.7 mm (6.48 in), 52-kilogram (110 lb) shells at a muzzle velocity of 865 m/s (2,840 ft/s) to a maximum range of 9,000 metres (9,800 yd). A total of 1606 rounds were carried, enough for three hours of fighting at the practical 1–2 rounds per minute per gun. Iéna also carried eight 100 mm (3.9 in), 45-calibre Canon de 100 mm Modèle 1893 guns in shielded mounts on the shelter deck. These guns fired a 12-kilogram (26 lb) projectile at 710 m/s (2,300 ft/s), which could be trained up to 20° for a maximum range of 9,500 metres (10,400 yd). Their theoretical maximum rate of fire was six rounds per minute, but only three rounds per minute sustained. 2074 shells were carried to ensure three hours of fire. The guns were 6.26 m (20.5 ft) above the waterline.[1]
16 47 mm (1.9 in), 40-calibre Canon de 47 mm Modèle 1885 Hotchkiss guns were mounted as anti-torpedo boat guns. They were fitted in platforms in the foremast and mainmast and on the superstructure. They fired a 1.49-kilogram (3.3 lb) projectile at 610 m/s (2,000 ft/s) to a maximum range of 4,000 metres (4,400 yd). Their theoretical maximum rate of fire was fifteen rounds per minute, but only seven rounds per minute sustained. 15,000 shells were kept in the magazines.[4] Admiral Marquis criticized the arrangements for the 47 mm guns in a 1903 report:
The number of ready-use rounds in insufficient and the hoists are desperately slow. The 47 mm guns, much more so than the large and medium-calibre guns, will have to fight at night; yet these are the only guns without a fire-control system designed for night operations. This is a deficiency which needs to be corrected as soon as possible.[5]
Four 450 mm (18 in) torpedo tubes were also carried. Two tubes were submerged and the other two were above the waterline. Twelve reserve Modèle 1889 torpedoes were carried, of which eight were combat models.[4]
Armour
Iéna had a complete waterline armour belt of Harvey armour that was 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) high and tapered from the maximum thickness of 320 mm (13 in) that covered 84 metres (276 ft) amidships to 230 mm (9.1 in) at the ship's ends. The lower edge of this belt was a uniform 120 mm (4.7 in) in thickness. The upper armour belt was in two strakes, the lower 120 mm (4.7 in) thick and the upper 80 mm (3.1 in). Their combined height was 2 m (6.6 ft) at the bow and reduced at the stern. The maximum thickness of the armoured deck was 80 mm (3.1 in) and the fore and aft armoured transverse bulkheads were 90 mm (3.5 in) thick. The main turret armour ranged from 278–318 mm (10.9–12.5 in) in thickness with a 50 mm (2.0 in) roof and the ammunition shafts were protected by 250 mm (9.8 in) of armour. The casemates for the 164 mm guns were 90 mm (3.5 in) thick and their ammunition tubes had 200 mm (7.9 in) of armour.[1][2]
The conning tower face had 298 mm (11.7 in) of armour and 250 mm (9.8 in) thick on its sides. Its roof was protected by two layers of armour, each 25 mm (0.98 in) thick. The communications tube was protected by 200 mm (7.9 in) of armour.[4]
History
Iéna was laid down at Brest on 15 January 1898[2] after being authorized on 3 April 1897. She was launched on 1 September 1898, but did not enter service until 14 April 1902.[6] Almost immediately upon entering service Iéna was transferred to the Mediterranean Squadron.[7] In April 1906, she was dispatched to provide assistance to Naples after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.[8]
Loss
On 4 March 1907 the Iéna was moved into dry dock No. 2 in the Missiessy Basin at Toulon to undergo maintenance of her hull as well as inspection of her rudder shaft. Eight days later, beginning at 1:35 a.m. and continuing until 2:45, a series of explosions occurred in the gunnery magazines of the Iéna which devastated the ship and the surrounding area. Because the ship was in a dry dock it was initially impossible to flood the magazines. The commanding officer of the battleship Patrie, which was moored nearby, fired a shell into the gate of the dry dock in an attempt to flood it, but the shell ricocheted without holing the gate. The dock was finally flooded when Ensign de Vaisseau Roux (who was killed shortly afterward by shrapnel from the ship) managed to open the sluice gates. The French battleship Suffren, moored in the No. 1 dock beside the Iéna, almost capsized under the strength of the blasts.[9]
The origin of the first explosion was traced to Powder B, a nitrocellulose-based propellant used in the ammunition, which tended to become unstable with age and self-ignite.[10] It was estimated that the ship's magazines contained approximately 80% of the suspect powder at the time of the accident. The explosion and loss of 118 lives triggered a major scandal, dubbed "l'affaire des poudres" ("gunpowder scandal"). As a result Gaston Thomson, the Navy Minister, was forced to resign.[11] A similar accident caused the loss of the French battleship Liberté in 1911.[12]
Disposal
After it was estimated that it would take 7 million francs and 2 years to fully repair the Iéna it was decided to decommission the ship and use her as a target ship.[13] All useful equipment was also removed and she was towed to a mooring off the Île des Porquerolles where she was used as a target to test the effectiveness of the latest design of armour-piercing shells beginning on 9 August 1909. After the completion of numerous tests, and with the Iéna close to foundering, she was towed her to deeper water. While under tow Iéna capsized and sank on 2 December 1909. The rights to the wreck were sold and she was subsequently broken up and salvaged between 1912 and 1927.[12]
Notes
References
- Caresse, Philippe (2007). The Iéna Disaster, 1907. Warship 2007. London: Conway. pp. 121–138. ISBN 1-84486-041-8.
- Robert Gardiner, ed (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwhich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.
- L’Illustration n°3342 (16 March 1907) and 3343 (23 March 1907)
- Le Petit Journal supplément illustré 31 March 1907, 21 April 1907
- E. Gille, Cent ans de cuirassés français, Marines Editions, 1999, ISBN 2909675505
External links
Media related to French battleship Iéna at Wikimedia Commons- CUIRASSE Iéna
- nice picture gallery of Iéna
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