French battleship Brennus

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

For the cancelled battleship of the same name, see Charles Martel-class ironclad.
Brennus underway after her reconstruction, 1896
Class overview
Preceded byMarceau class
Succeeded byCharles Martel
History
France
NameBrennus
Namesake
Brennus
, a Gallic chieftain
Ordered1888
Builder
Arsenal de Lorient
Cost25,083,675 French francs
Laid down2 January 1889
Launched17 October 1891
Decommissioned1 April 1914
In service11 January 1896
ReclassifiedAs training ship, 15 November 1909
Stricken22 August 1919
FateScrapped, 1922
General characteristics
TypePre-dreadnought battleship
Displacement11,370 
deep load
)
Length
  • 110.3 m (361 ft 11 in) (p/p)
  • 114.46 m (375 ft 6 in) (o/a)
Beam20.4 m (66 ft 11 in)
Draft8.28 m (27 ft 2 in)
Installed power
  • 32
    Belleville boilers
  • 12,500 
    kW
    )
Propulsion2 shafts; 2 triple-expansion steam engines
Speed17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph)
Range2,805 nmi (5,195 km; 3,228 mi) at 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph)
Complement667
Armament
Armor
  • Belt: 300–400 mm (11.8–15.7 in)
  • Deck: 60 mm (2.4 in)
  • Conning tower: 120 mm (4.7 in)
  • Main turrets: 405 or 455 mm (15.9 or 17.9 in)

Brennus was the first

Belleville boilers. She formed the basis for several subsequent designs, beginning with Charles Martel
. As completed in 1893, the ship was very top-heavy and had to be rebuilt over the next three years before she was ready to enter service.

Brennus spent the majority of her service in the

naval register in 1919 and was ultimately scrapped
three years later.

Design

Line-drawing of Brennus in her final configuration

In 1880, the French Navy embarked on a naval construction program that included the

ironclad battleships Hoche and the three-ship Marceau class; the program called for two more vessels, which were to be laid down in 1882. The first of these was to have been named Brennus and work began in 1885. Admiral Théophile Aube, who opposed battleship construction in favor of the cheaper torpedo boats and cruisers of the Jeune École, became the Naval Minister and cancelled both ships in January 1886 before much work had been done. Aube left the government in 1887 and his successor permitted work to resume; the ship's designer, Charles Ernest Huin, lobbied to restart construction to keep the shipyards busy. He re-designed Brennus to meet new requirements and the design was approved in 1889, allowing work to resume. The sections of hull that had been assembled on the slipway were dismantled, with the steel used elsewhere in the new ship. The fact that the same slipway was used to build both vessels, and parts of the original were reused in the latter vessel has caused some to conflate the vessels. The two ships were, nevertheless, distinct vessels. The second Brennus was ordered in 1888.[1][2][3]

Brennus was the first

Belleville boilers. Other changes included the adoption of a thin upper strake of armor to protect against quick-firing guns and the abandonment of the ram bow.[4] Brennus formed the basis for the subsequent group of five broadly similar battleships built to the same design specifications, begun with Charles Martel, though they reverted to the armament layout of the earlier Magentas which saw the main guns distributed in single turrets in a lozenge (quadrilateral) pattern.[5]

General characteristics and machinery

Painting of Brennus

Brennus was 110.3 meters (361 ft 11 in)

double bottom that extended over the full length of the hull except at the bow. Brennus had a crew of 667 officers and enlisted men.[6]

The ship suffered from very poor

hull.[8]

Brennus had a pair of four-cylinder vertical

internal-combustion engine.[9]

Armament and armor

Brennus after her main mast had been reduced

Brennus's

armor-piercing, capped (APC) and semi-armor-piercing, capped (SAPC) shells at a muzzle velocity of 740 to 780 meters per second (2,400 to 2,600 ft/s).[12] At their maximum elevation of +10°, the guns had a range of 10,900 meters (11,900 yd). Designed to have a rate of fire of one round per two minutes, the actual rate of fire was about half that in service.[13] The ship initially stowed 39 shells for each gun, but this was later increased to 61.[14] The ship's secondary armament consisted of ten 45-caliber Canon de 164.7 mm (6.5 in) Modèle 1893 guns, four of which were mounted in single turrets amidships; the other six were located directly underneath them in casemates. They had a muzzle velocity of 730 to 770 m/s (2,400 to 2,500 ft/s) when firing their 30-kilogram (66 lb) CI or 35-kilogram (77 lb) AP or SAP shells.[15] The guns had a range of 10,450 meters (11,430 yd) at their maximum elevation of +20°.[9]

For defense against torpedo boats, Brennus was equipped with a suite of quick-firing guns, the largest of which were four 50-caliber Canon de 65 mm (2.6 in) Modèle 1891 guns in single unshielded mounts on the fore and aft superstructure.[16] Their 4-kilogram (8.8 lb) shells had a muzzle velocity of 715 m/s (2,350 ft/s)[17] which gave them a range of 5,500 meters (6,000 yd).[9] The suite was rounded out by fourteen 40-caliber 47 mm (1.9 in) Modèle 1885 guns and fourteen 37 mm (1.5 in) Modèle 1885 Hotchkiss guns, of which six of the latter were 5-barrel revolver cannon. All of these guns were positioned in the fighting tops on the military masts and in the superstructure. The ship was also fitted with four above-water 450-millimeter (17.7 in) torpedo tubes on rotating mounts, two on each broadside. She carried two Modèle 1889 torpedoes for each tube. The torpedoes had two speed and range settings: 600 m (660 yd) at 29.5 kn (54.6 km/h; 33.9 mph) or 800 m (870 yd) at 28 kn (51.9 km/h; 32.2 mph).[16]

Brennus's armor mostly consisted of

nickel steel.[4] The 2.1-meter-high (6 ft 11 in) waterline belt was 400 mm (15.7 in) thick amidships and tapered down to 250 mm (9.8 in) at its lower edge. Fore and aft of the armored citadel amidships, the belt reduced to 300 mm (11.8 in) at the waterline; forward its lower edge tapered to a thickness of 200 mm (7.9 in), but aft the belt tapered to 180 mm (7.1 in) on its bottom edge. The main armored deck was 60 mm (2.4 in) thick. The forward turret and its barbette were protected by armor plates 455 mm (17.9 in) thick, while those of the aft turret and its barbette were 405 mm (15.9 in) thick. The turret roofs were 80 mm (3.1 in) thick. The armor protecting the casemates and secondary gun turrets had a thickness of 100 mm (3.9 in). The conning tower had 120 mm (4.7 in) thick sides.[13]

Construction and career

Brennus in her original configuration, c. 1894

Brennus, named after the

Arsenal de Brest submitted a proposal to lighten the ship which it estimated was 412 t (405 long tons) overweight, which was approved on 30 October.[8]

To reduce the ship's excessive topweight, the

bridge wings and the overhang of the bridge over the main-gun turrets was eliminated. More importantly, the top deck of the superstructure was removed and the aft military mast was replaced by a pole mast. To further reduce weight, the torpedo nets were removed and the boat stowage was lowered by one deck. To improve her stability, a watertight caisson (soufflage) was added at the waterline over her belt armor. The opportunity was taken to replace her propellers[19] and the 164.7 mm Modèle 1887 guns initially installed were replaced by the latest model.[4]

The ship began her preliminary sea trials in August 1895 and a second stability trial was conducted on 22 December that showed a metacentric height of 1.047 m (3 ft 5.2 in). Despite these modifications, the ship was not fully satisfactory. A report by

Capitaine de vaisseau (Captain) Joseph Besson, the ship's first commander, stated:[20]

The ship has good qualities but also major defects. The most serious problem is that when engaging on the broadside the ship is effectively unarmoured. The 340 mm turrets are too heavy and are not balanced, and when both are trained on the same beam the heel of the ship is such that the upper edge of the belt is level with the water. This means that the only side protection against enemy shell is provided by the 10 cm upper belt. The thickness of the armour belt at its lower edge—only 25 cm—and the large turning circle are further weaknesses.[20]

1896–1900

Map of the western Mediterranean, where Brennus spent the majority of her peacetime career

Brennus finally entered service on 11 January 1896 at a cost of

Vice-amiral (Vice admiral) Alfred Gervais. While towing targets for the other ships in her squadron on 24 August, the ship was accidentally fired upon by the torpedo cruiser Vautour; one man was wounded in the incident. Gervais was relieved by Vice-amiral Jules de Cuverville on 15 October, who was replaced in his turn by Vice-amiral Edgar Humann on 15 October 1897.[21] That year, the Marine Nationale issued a new doctrine for gunnery control. During gunnery training exercises to test the new system, Brennus and the ironclad battleships Neptune and Marceau achieved 26 percent hits at a range of 3,000 to 4,000 m (3,300 to 4,400 yd). Their success prompted the Navy to make this method the standard for the fleet in February 1898.[22] On 16 April 1898, Félix Faure, President of France, boarded the ship to watch maneuvers. After their completion he suggested a race between the battleships; after two hours Brennus trailed the newer Charles Martel and Carnot, but beat four older ships.[23]

The ship's figurehead preserved at the Musée national de la Marine

The ship participated in the annual fleet maneuvers during 8–20 July.

Navy Minister Édouard Lockroy then observed gunnery exercises aboard her in September that culminated with the sinking of the old floating battery Arrogante. Vice-amiral Ernest François Fournier hoisted his flag aboard Brennus as commander of the Mediterranean Squadron on 1 October. Capitaine de vaisseau Augustin Boué de Lapeyrère became captain of the ship that same day. Desiring a figurehead for his ship, he located an old one of the goddess Ceres in storage and ordered that she be refashioned into a Gaul. He also ordered his chief engineer to make a suitable copper helmet for the figurehead. Stowed below whenever the ship went to sea, Brennus was the last ship in the Marine Nationale to bear a figurehead. As tensions between France and Great Britain rose during the Fashoda Incident, the squadron's sailors had their leave canceled on 18 October and the battleships loaded their full complement of ammunition before disembarking it on 5 November when the two countries settled their differences.[24]

During the squadron's cruise of the Eastern Mediterranean in October–December 1899, the ship hosted a dinner for Queen

naval review in Cherbourg on 19 July for President Émile Loubet.[26]

On 1 August, the Mediterranean Squadron departed for Toulon, arriving on 14 August. While cruising off Cape St. Vincent during the voyage back on the night of 10/11 August, Brennus accidentally collided with the destroyer Framée, sinking her and killing forty-seven of her crew; only fourteen men were rescued. After reaching Toulon, the fleet then departed a week later for gunnery training off Porquerolles.[27] On 30 September she was replaced as the squadron flagship by the new battleship Saint Louis. The ship began a lengthy refit on 17 October that lasted until 1 June 1901.[28]

1901–1922

After a port visit to

Alfonso XIII of Spain. Contre-amiral Horace Jauréguiberry relieved Besson on 10 September. He was relieved in his turn by Contre-amiral Paul-Louis Germinet on 10 August 1905. Navy Minister Gaston Thomson observed exercises aboard the battleship which visited Corsica and ports in southern France during 17–28 October.[30]

For the 1906 maneuvers, Fournier came aboard his old flagship during the exercises. The maneuvers lasted from 3 July to 3 August, at which point the fleet returned to Toulon; the next day, the fleet dispersed.[31] The transport SS Dives broke her anchor chain in Toulon harbor on 4 December and collided with Brennus. The battleship was not significantly damaged, but Dives ran aground. By the beginning of 1907, the Reserve Division had been enlarged into a squadron, but it was redesignated as the Division d'instruction (Training Division) on 15 February. There was a small fire on 12 June in the forward main-gun turret that badly burned the miscreant who had lit a gasoline-soaked rag. Brennus became a private ship on 16 August and she was reduced to reserve nine days later. The ship was assigned to the torpedo school on 15 November 1909 as a training ship and her main guns were modified to improve their rate of fire over the next two years. Brennus participated in a large naval review by President Armand Fallières off Cap Brun on 4 September. The following day she collided with the excursion ship SS Magali; there were no casualties aboard either ship, but Magali had to be beached lest she sink.[32]

The battleship was again placed in reserve on 1 January 1912 and was

storeship before being broken up for scrap in 1922.[33]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Ropp, pp. 222, 230.
  2. ^ Jordan & Caresse, pp. 18, 20.
  3. ^ a b Campbell, p. 283.
  4. ^ a b c d e Jordan & Caresse, p. 20.
  5. ^ Ropp, p. 223.
  6. ^ a b Caresse, p. 30.
  7. ^ a b c Campbell, p. 292.
  8. ^ a b Caresse, pp. 32–33.
  9. ^ a b c d Caresse, p. 31.
  10. ^ Ropp, p. 230.
  11. ^ Caresse, pp. 31, 35.
  12. ^ Friedman, p. 207.
  13. ^ a b Caresse, pp. 30–31.
  14. ^ Gille, p. 78.
  15. ^ Friedman, p. 224.
  16. ^ a b Caresse, pp. 31, 36.
  17. ^ Friedman, p. 227.
  18. ^ Silverstone, p. 91.
  19. ^ Caresse, p. 33.
  20. ^ a b Caresse, p. 35.
  21. ^ Caresse, pp. 30, 35, 37.
  22. ^ Ropp, p. 301.
  23. ^ Caresse, p. 37.
  24. ^ Caresse, pp. 37–38.
  25. ^ Caresse, p. 359.
  26. ^ Jordan & Caresse, pp. 217–219.
  27. ^ Jordan & Caresse, pp. 218–219.
  28. ^ a b Caresse, p. 42.
  29. ^ Jordan & Caresse, p. 223.
  30. ^ Caresse, pp. 40, 42.
  31. ^ Alger, pp. 1118–1119.
  32. ^ Caresse, pp. 40, 44–45.
  33. ^ Caresse, p. 45.

References

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