Dupleix-class cruiser: Difference between revisions

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The ships of the ''Dupleix'' class had a [[Main battery|main armament]] that consisted of eight [[quick-firing gun|quick-firing (QF)]] 45-[[caliber (artillery)|caliber]] [[Canon de 164 mm Modèle 1893|Canon de 164 mm Modèle 1893–96]] guns. They were mounted in four twin-gun turrets, one each fore and aft of the [[superstructure]] and a pair of wing turrets [[amidships]].<ref name=ck5>Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 305</ref> The guns fired {{convert|54.9|kg|lb|adj=on|sp=us}} shells at [[Muzzle velocity|muzzle velocities]] ranging from {{convert|865|m/s|ft/s|sp=us}}. This gave them a range of about {{convert|10800|m|yd|sp=us}} at the turrets' maximum [[elevation (ballistics)|elevation]] of +15 degrees. Each gun was provided with 200 [[Cartridge (firearms)|rounds]], of which 44 shells were stowed in the turrets, which it could fire at a rate of three rounds per minute.<ref>Friedman, p. 223; Jordan & Caresse, pp. 85, 87, 89</ref>

The cruisers' [[Battleship secondary armament|secondary armament]] consisted of four 45-caliber QF [[Canon de 100 mm Modèle 1891|Canon de 100 mm Modèle de 1893]] guns on single mounts in unprotected casemates in the [[hull (watercraft)|hull]]. Their {{convert|16|kg|lb|adj=on|sp=us}} shells were fired at muzzle velocities of {{convert|710|m/s|ft/s|sp=us}} at a rate of six rounds per minute. At their maximum elevation of +20 degrees, the guns had a range of {{convert|9000|m|yd|sp=us}}. The sisters carried 250 rounds for each gun. For defense against [[torpedo boat]]s, they carried ten [[QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss|{{convert|47|mm|in|adj=on|sp=us}}]] and four {{convert|37|mm|adj=on|sp=us}} [[Hotchkiss gun]]s, all of which were on single mounts.<ref>Friedman, pp. 226–227; Jordan & Caresse, pp. 82, 89–90</ref> The ship were also equipped with two above-water {{convert|450|mm|in|adj=on|1|sp=us}} [[torpedo tube]]s, one on each broadside.<ref name=s9/>

===Protection===

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===World War I===

After the French declaration of war on [[Imperial Germany]] in early August 1914, ''Dupleix'' was assigned to the British [[China Squadron]] and participated in the early stages of the blockade of the German-leased port of [[TsingtaoQingdao]]. By late September, the ship was assigned to escort duties in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea. She was transferred to the newly formed Dardanelles Squadron ({{lang|fr|Escadre des Dardanelles}}) in May 1915, which was tasked to blockade the Aegean coast of Turkey. On the 26th, the cruiser was attacked by Ottoman [[coastal artillery]] at [[Bodrum]] while inspecting shipping, losing 27 men killed and 11 wounded.<ref>Corbett, I, pp. 143, 149, 302, 334, 359; Jordan & Caresse, pp. 225, 236</ref>

''Desaix'' and ''Kléber'' were reactivated in July 1914 and were assigned to the 3rd Light Division ({{lang|fr|3^e Division légère}} (DL)) of the 2nd Light Squadron which was tasked to defend the English Channel in conjunction with the British. The division was on station in the western end of the Channel by 4 August, where their mission was to intercept German shipping and provide distant [[Covering force|cover]] for the smaller ships escorting convoys in the Channel. Improved defenses in the Channel and the stabilization of the front in early 1915 allowed the cruisers to be released from their tasks, so ''Desaix'' was assigned to the 3rd Squadron upon her arrival in the [[Eastern Mediterranean]] on 16 February. The squadron was tasked to patrol the area between [[Port Said]], [[Egypt]], and [[Alexandretta]], [[Ottoman Syria]]. The cruiser was detached in May to assist the 1st Naval Army ({{lang|fr|1^re Armée Navale}}) in the Central Mediterranean with searching for German shipping near Italian ports. She rejoined the 3rd Squadron and was tasked to help blockade the Ottoman coast near the Turkish and Syrian border. In contrast to her sister, ''Kléber'' was transferred to the [[Naval operations in the Dardanelles campaign|Dardanelles to support]] Allied forces in the Gallipoli Campaign in May where she joined the Dardanelles Squadron together with ''Dupleix'' and were assigned to blockade the coast of [[Asia Minor]].<ref>Jordan & Caresse, pp. 223–225, 232–236</ref> ''Kléber'' collided with the [[Royal Australian Navy]] [[troopship]] [[SS Pfalz (1913)|HMT ''Boorara'']] in the [[Aegean Sea]] on 17 July, damaging her bow.<ref>{{cite web |title=Australian troopship A42 HMAT Boorara (ex Pfalz) at Mudros, after being rammed by French cruiser... |url=https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1203566 |website=Australian War Memorial |access-date=3 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=NETLEY, ENGLAND. 1918-03. TORPEDO DAMAGE TO THE SIDE OF SS BOORARA SHOWN AFTER SHE WAS BEACHED ... |url=https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C244578 |website=Australian War Memorial |access-date=16 May 2020}}</ref> After the [[Kingdom of Bulgaria]] joined the [[Central Powers]] in mid-October, ''Kléber'' was one of the ship tasked to raid the Aegean coast of Bulgaria on 21 October.<ref>Jordan & Caresse, pp. 237, 242</ref>

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==Bibliography==

{{Commons category|Dupleix class armoured cruisers}}

* {{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905|editor1-last=Chesneau |editor1-first=Roger|editor2-last=Kolesnik|editor2-first=Eugene M.|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|___location=Greenwich, UK|year=1979|isbn=0-8317-0302-4|name-list-style=amp|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_l2e2}}

* {{cite book|last=Corbett|first=Julian|author-link=Julian Corbett|title=Naval Operations to the Battle of the Falklands|edition=2nd|orig-year=1938|series=History of the Great War: Based on Official Documents|volume=I|publisher=Imperial War Museum in association with the Battery Press|___location=London; Nashville, Tennessee|isbn=0-89839-256-X|year=1997}}

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[[Category:Dupleix-class cruisers| ]]

[[Category:Cruisers of the French Navy]]

[[Category:World War I cruisers of France]]

[[Category:Ship classes of the French Navy]]