Indochina gunboat Francis Garnier

[Would you like to see this in-game?]
  • Yes
  • No
0 voters

Gunboat Francis Garnier

About this ship and its interest in War Thunder

This big gunboat was probably the most recognisable river gunboat used by the French during WW2. A good compromise between a colonial sloop and a sub chaser, it was well armed for its size. Once again, this suggestion’s aim is to provide more options for smaller, mid-tier ships for the French navy.

About the Francis Garnier

The Francis Garnier was a modern river gunboat, built to modernize the aging French colonial fleet built toward the end of the 19th century. Built in Caen starting 1926, it was the largest river gunboat to ever sail the chinese rivers. It was launched in 1927 and operational in 1929. It reached Shanghaï toward the end of the same year. It sailed on the Yang Tse river until the arrival of Japanese forces in 1936. Replaced by a colonial sloop in 1939, it was sent to Haïphong, in Indochina, after the Armistice in 1940 and was affected to the colonial gunboat force in the Tokin region. In 1943, it was attacked by a B-24 without markings, and retaliated with its AA guns. It was attacked the same way a month later, without suffering damages. In march 1945, the retreating japanese attacked it during the night and heavily damaged it, forcing the captain to scuttle the ship as it was burning.

Specifications

DIMENSIONS

Total length : 62.5 m

Total width : 10.3 m

draught : 2.2 m

displacement : 639 tons

crew : 103

ENGINES

VTE, 2 boilers Du Temple

3200 HP

Max speed : 15 knots

ARMAMENT :

  • 2 x 100mm mle. 1891 canons

  • 1 x 75mm mle. 1897 canon

  • 2 x 37mm mle. 1925

  • 4 x 8mm Hotchkiss mle.1914. machineguns

PHOTOS :

Drawing of the Francis garnier :

Spoiler


doudart_de_lagree_and_francis_garnier_fr

PHOTOS OF THE SHIP

Spoiler

franci11.jpg

d7d412_a286d6570b334719bd56900a84d3cafd~

SOURCES :

Spoiler

FRANCIS GARNIER river gunboat (1931)

Francis Garnier

* FRANCIS GARNIER (1930/1945)

WARSHIPSRESEARCH: Chinese river gunboat Fa Ku or the French le Francis Garnier 1926-1944

2 Likes

Some additional details for the vessel:

Source: Henri Le Masson, The French Navy, Vol. 2 (Navies of the Second World War) pages 65-67

  • 2 shafts, 2 screws
  • Engines had a total output of 3200 indicated horsepower
  • The 100 mm gun had a barrel length of 40 calibre (when the aforementioned 100mm mle. 1891 was typically L45)
  • Vessel was launched in December 1927
  • Scuttling took place on Mekong River on 1945-03-09
1 Like