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Given the current state of the French coastal tree, I think it’s worth throwing some suggestions around for interesting, pre-Cold War designs that could be added to the game.
So here it is: Doudart de Lagrée launched 1908, in her last, 1933 refit. Features 75 mm main gun + two WW1-era, low-velocity 37 mm guns + 4 machine guns + tiny bit of armor, moving at a snail pace of 24 km/h - slower than LCS(L)(3), but faster than AF D1 or SF40 barges.
(side note: This could add a new fun feature - having the flag on both: bow and stern)
Historic background:
Dive into the history of the design, construction, and career
The design of a new gunboat for the upper Yangtse River, initiated in 1905, was heavily influenced by the experiences of Lieutenants de vaisseau Hourst and Louis Théophile Audemard, who had previously commanded the ageing gunboat Olry. The initial design proposals, refined through discussions with a technical commission on 13 December 1905, combined innovative features like a spoon-shaped bow for better buoyancy in rapids, and semi-immerged screws in tunnels for propulsion. The commission set specifications for the vessel’s length, draft, and speed but left the armament undecided, opting instead to focus on protective plating for critical areas and differing accommodations for European and Chinese crew members. Minister Thomson formally requested a design based on these specifications on 2 April 1906.
After nearly two years, a contract for the new gunboat was signed on 9 March 1908 with the shipbuilders De la Brosse et Fouché, with construction oversight by Audemard, now a Capitaine de frégate. The final design incorporated the specified spoon bow, four rudders, and two propeller shafts, each with a single propeller. The vessel featured a dynamo-powered searchlight and electric lamps in key areas. Despite these innovations, the gunboat suffered from issues with longitudinal strength, necessitating multiple reinforcements throughout her service. In 1918, 8mm armour was placed around the pilot house, 6mm armour was added over the machinery spaces, and the guns received 8mm shields, increasing displacement by 7 tons, deepening draught by 20cm, and decreasing speed by one knot.
In 1912 mobilization orders were promulgated to French gunboats on the Yangtse that, in the event of war with Germany, they were to proceed to Shanghai to be decommissioned at Shanghai Docks. The officers and crews were then to proceed to Hong Kong where they would be distributed among the ships of the seagoing China Naval Division and local naval forces in Indochina. Doudart de Lagrée duly reported to Shanghai after learning of the outbreak of war in August 1914. Similarly, Peï-Ho was decommissioned at the outbreak of the war at Tangku and Argus and Vigilante were decommissioned at Hong Kong. In December 1917 at the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the Navy decided to reactivate Doudart de Lagrée, which left Shanghai Docks in August 1918 after her armament was modified and armour added.
In response to the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, French gunboats stationed on the Yangtse River, including Doudart de Lagrée, were ordered to proceed to Shanghai for decommissioning. The crews were then redirected to Hong Kong to bolster the China Naval Division and local naval forces in Indochina. Doudart de Lagrée complied with these orders and was subsequently decommissioned, while other gunboats like Peï-Ho, Argus, and Vigilante were also withdrawn from active service. However, in December 1917, the French Navy reactivated Doudart de Lagrée at the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and she underwent modifications, including additional armour, before leaving Shanghai Docks in August 1918.
On 12 August 1921, Doudart de Lagrée ran aground on the Kutse-Liang rock due to low water levels. The gunboat began taking on water and spent fifteen days on the brink of sinking. When the water levels started to rise, the mooring lines snapped on 28 August, causing the gunboat to drift. She was ultimately saved by the British gunboat Teal of the Woodcock class.
After repairs, Doudart de Lagrée resumed service. In September 1924, she assisted the French steamer Ki-Kin when it was attacked by Chinese Republican troops between Chongqing and Suifu. A year later, on 7 November 1925, her commander, Lieutenant de Vaisseau Pont, aided the small Chinese steamer Kiang-King, which had run aground on the rocks of the Yangtse’s right bank, 90 kilometres upstream of Yichang, an area still troubled by revolutionary unrest. Although she did not participate in the Wanhsien incident of 5 September 1926, where Kuomintang forces attempted to seize British vessels, she did manage to rescue a British officer who swam to her. In 1930, she also assisted the new British gunboat HMS Peterel. After undergoing maintenance in Shanghai in December 1932, Doudart de Lagrée carried out various missions in Shanghai, Nanking, Jiujiang, and Hankou, mainly operating in the Chongqing region. However, with the increasing Japanese control in the area, she was forced to retreat from Shanghai to Nanking on 7 February 1938.
Doudart de Lagrée was stationed at the French concession port of Hankou when war was declared on 3 September 1939. She remained there until 3 December, when she set sail for Shanghai, arriving a week later and was decommissioned. The gunboat was struck from the French fleet in June 1949, during the Communist Revolution, and was captured by the Chinese. Her fate thereafter remains unknown.
Log of the important events, in French:
- 13.03.1908 : date du marché, issu du programme de la commission du 12.12.1905
- 04.02.1909 : achevé
- 04.02-10.03.1909 : en essais
- 05.05-04.07.1909 : transporté en pièces détachées de Saint Nazaire à Shangai par le vapeur Kouang-Si des Messageries Maritimes
- 08.1909 : remontage des éléments
- 14.09.1909 : quitte Shangai après une période d’essais
- 03.10.1909 : recetté après remontage à Shangai
- 11.1909 : 1ère remontée du Yang Tsé Kiang (CF Audemard)
- 06-07.1910 : réparations à Shangai, relignage des lignes d’arbres
- Au 01.01.1911 : lieutenant de vaisseau Gabriel Dupuy-Dutemps, commandant
- 08.1911 : protection des Européens suite à la révolte du Sichuan
- 03.05-03.06.1912 : en carénage à Shangai
- 08.1914-12.1917 : désarmé aux Shangai Docks
- 1918 : réarmé, modification de l’artillerie
- 12.08.1921 : échoué sur le Yang-Tsé, sauvé par la canonnière HMS Teal
- 1925-1936 : Yang Tsé Kiang
- 05-08.1928 : carénage et changement de chaudières à Shangai
- 07.1937-1939 : protection de la concession française pendant la guerre sino-japonaise
- 01.09.1939 : Hankéou
- 13.09.1939 : quitte Hankéou en escorte du Yungan transportant des troupes pour Shangai
- 20.11.1939 : désarmé à Shangai
- 03.1940 : désarmé, en gardiennage aux Kiousin Docks de Shangai
- 06.1941 : cédé aux Chinois
- 27.06.1941 : rayé des listes de la flotte et remis à l’agent consulaire de Shangai.
Specifications:
Displacement: 250t (with coal loaded)
Length Between Perpendiculars: 51m
Length Overall: 52.3m
Beam: 6.7m
Draft: 1.2m
Machinery: 2 Fouché boilers, 2 reciprocating engines on 2 propellers with 4 rudders. Total 900ihp.
Coal bunkers: 45t capacity
Crew: 59
Speed: 13 knots / 24 km/h
Armor: 10 mm chrome steel plating + further 8 mm applique armour on the navigation rooms (Bridge, Commander’s room, Commander’s office and Officers’ office)
10 mm chrome steel plating + further 6 mm applique armour on the boiler room and engine room
8 mm gun shields
Weapons: 1 x 75 mm Modèle 1916 forward,
2 x 37 mm Modèle 1916 and 4 x 8 mm Mitrailleuse Modèle 1907 on the upper deck.
Additional equipment:
1 x 30cm searchlight
Radio room (added 1921, upgraded 1926), can be placed in the Officers’ office (per schematics below) - in there the antennas were installed.
Paint (at least, what we know about it):
White on the hull and superstructure with Chamois (◆) chimneys (see: picture above).
Weapons in detail:
show description of the weapons
Primary:
1 x 75 mm Modèle 1916
Muzzle velocity: 700 m/s
Ammo: QF 76.2 x 420mm R
Rate of fire: 12-15 rpm
Muzzle velocity: 680 m/s
Unknown which specific mount was used, but this was equipped in 1918, so I presume Model 1915 mount with elevation -10° to +42°, horizontal rotation of 360°, is by far most likely.
Secondary:
2 x 37 mm Modèle 1916
(these guns were moved from Balny)
Ammo: 37 x 94mm R
Round - High-explosive - Obus explosif Mle1916 had 30 g explosive filler, and a total mass of 555 g
Rate of fire: 35 rpm
Muzzle velocity: 367 m/s
I understand that this is Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP - Wikipedia
Unknown which specific mount was used, I guess you could go with Wikipedia’s -8° to 17° elevation angles?
Anti-Air:
2 x 8 mm Mitrailleuse Modèle 1907
Rate of fire: adjustable 8 to 600 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity: 724 m/s
Feed system: 25-round metal strips
Schematics, as-built:
Show schematics
(per Adm. Bernard Estival Les canonnières de Chine, 1900-1945 - 1995 edition)
1. 37 mm cannon. 2. Bridge. 3. Commander’s lounge. 4. Commander’s room. 5. Commander’s office. 6. Officers’ office. 7. Officer’s room. 8. Officers’ mess. 9. Windlass. 10. Chief mechanic’s room. 11. Petty officers’ quarters. 12. Bathroom. 13. Secretary’s office. 14. Bakery. 15. Kitchen. 16. Engine skylight. 17. Crew quarters. 18. Washbasins. 19. Toilet. 20. Forward peak. 21. Store. 22. Chain well. 23. Windlass engine. 24. Hold. 25. Engine store. 26. Boiler room. 27. Coal. 28. Engine. 29. Chinese quarters. 30. Prison. 31. Pilots’ and interpreter’s quarters. 32. Hammock hold. 33. Galley. 34. Empty space.
Photos:
Show photos
Undated:
Doudart de Lagrée next to the cruiser Primauguet in Shanghai (per Adm. Bernard Estival Les canonnières de Chine, 1900-1945 - 1995 edition)
Bow section of the foundered Doudart de Lagrée in August 1921 (per Adm. Bernard Estival Les canonnières de Chine, 1900-1945 - 1995 edition)
During trials in 1909, with 4 rudders clearly visible:
In Shanghai dock, 1912 (per Adm. Bernard Estival Les canonnières de Chine, 1900-1945 - 1995 edition)
1923 picture per source - this already includes the 75 mm cannon on the bow
1927 (per Adm. Bernard Estival Les canonnières de Chine, 1900-1945 - 1995 edition)
Delegation on Doudart de Lagrée in 1927 on the front-left of the vessel, showing the details of the superstructure and the barrel of the 75 mm cannon (+ a slight corner of the gun shield in the very bottom-right of the picture)
Sources:
- Stephen S. Roberts, French Warships in the Age of Steam 1859–1914
- Adm. Bernard Estival, Les canonnières de Chine, 1900-1945 - 1995 edition
- Doudart de Lagrée (canonnière) — Wikipédia
- DOUDART DE LAGRÉE - Chaloupe canonnière - Forum PAGES 14-18