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Hello everyone and welcome to this new feature. Today I’m going to introduce you to a ship with a fascinating history: the Foudre. Le Foudre was a French torpedo boat tender, developed at the end of the 19th century and commissioned in 1887. Designed to transport eight small torpedo boats to combat zones (these small torpedo boats had limited range but were effective in combat, so it was necessary to transport them by ship; for this purpose, the ship was equipped with cranes to load and unload them from its deck). The ship was later converted into a repair and supply vessel, and then again into a mine-laying vessel. The version I am describing today is the final configuration of this ship, in which it served as a seaplane carrier.
From the early 1910s, the French Navy became interested in seaplanes for its fleet. A first unit was established, and in 1911, in Fréjus, to test their deployment directly at sea, the Foudre was converted into a seaplane tender, capable of launching a seaplane from its own ramp. Numerous tests were conducted during 1912 in the Bay of Saint-Raphaël in southern France. The Foudre was then the first operational seaplane carrier in the world. In 1913, the Navy conducted a series of exercises to evaluate the usefulness of such an investment; during these exercises, the Foudre proved to be particularly effective, allowing the detection of attacking fleets before they arrived.
The Foudre was, of course, deployed during the First World War, used to deploy naval seaplanes for reconnaissance missions ahead of the fleet, and participated in the blockade of the Syrian coast in 1915. It should be noted that during this period, the Foudre also served to deploy submarines, which did not yet have the range to travel independently to conflict zones.
Characteristics
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Length : 118.70 m
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Width : 16.00 m
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Draft : 7.15 m
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Mass : 6,100 tons
The Foudre is propelled by 24 coal-fired boilers, providing a total power output of 8.7 MW, which allows it to reach a maximum speed of 119.6 knots. Its cruising range is 7,000 nautical miles. The crew consists of 430 sailors.
Equipment
The Foudre does not have any specific equipment such as radar or sonar, however, it can accommodate various types of aircraft, torpedo boats, or submarines on its deck.
Seaplanes:
- Canard Voisin
- Caudron Type J
Submarines:
- 2 Naiade-class submarines
Torpedo boats:
- Up to 8 torpedo boats of various classes
Obviously, in the game, only the transport of seaplanes is interesting at the moment.
Weapons
- 8 100 mm Mle 1891 (2 gun turrets, one at the front and one at the rear, and 6 guns mounted in casemates on the sides)
- 4 65 mm Mle 1891 (One cannon on each side, both at the front and rear)
In the game, the Foudre would be a unique and very valuable ship for the French fleet, providing a vessel capable of effectively defending itself against various threats, while also being able to deploy seaplanes despite its small size.
Pictures
