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FS Bouvet (1898)

FS Bouvet (1898) History

Bouvet served in the French Navy in the early 20th century and saw her keel in Lorient on 16 January 1893. She was launched on 27 April 1896 and commissioned from her designated home port of Toulon in June 1898. The ship was named after French Admiral Francois Joseph Bouvet (1753-1832).

Bouvet was not officially a member of any particular warship class, but she was built to a broadly similar design along with Cano, Charles Martel, Jarreguiberg, and Massena ("leading" ships were usually Charles Martel). Of the ships of the group, Bouvet was considered the best, having improved seaworthiness compared to her "sisters", thanks in large part to her closed superstructure and natural Well balanced.

Bouvet was originally considered a front-line battleship until, like other battleships of her era, she was downgraded (at least nominally) to a Predreadnought battleship after HMS Dreadnought entered service with the Royal Navy. HMS Dreadnought rewrites the rulebook for frontline ladle warships with its unified main gun and balanced steam power performance/protection.

In fact, their appearance sparked a new naval arms race between Europe and other world powers - making the former dreadnoughts an obsolete tool, as ironclads entered naval history.

When built, the Bouvet had a displacement of 13,235 tons (short), an overall length of 386 feet, a beam of 70 feet, and a draft of 27 feet. Her profile included two smoke funnels lined up amidships. The bridge superstructure faces forward and uses a two main tower arrangement. Her machine included 32 Belleville boilers that fed 3 triple expansion steam engines and produced 15,000 horsepower and drove three shafts.

This, along with her streamlined hull design, allows her to reach speeds of 18 knots. Her typical crew size was over 650, although her onboard space could support more than 700 in wartime (it did during World War I).

Armor protection includes 460mm thick conveyor belt, 380mm main turret thickness and 305mm conning tower thickness.

As a battleship, Bouvet was well equipped. Her main guns were 2 x 305mm/45 caliber Modele 1893 guns mounted on a pair of round, flat single gun turrets - one in the front and the other in the rear.

The main guns were carried directly by 2 x 274 mm /45 caliber Modele 1893 guns, also fitted with a pair of turrets as turrets - these turrets were located in the middle of the ship, arranged as one port and one starboard (this type of "hybrid turret")" The primary battery consisted of the former dreadnought type, which in part made the HMS dreadnought so revolutionary in naval history). Secondary armament consisted of 8 x 138mm/45 caliber Modele 1888 guns surrounding the superstructure, mounted in Of eight single turrets.

Additional firepower came from 8 x 100mm guns and 12 x 3 pounders. Like many warships from the turn of the century and beyond, Bouvet was equipped with a pair of 450mm (18") torpedo tubes.[ /p]

Bouvet entered service in 1898 and was initially assigned to the French Mediterranean Squadron before being transferred to the Northern Squadron to replace the FS Doom. In January 1903, she was involved in a collision with Gallois, but both ships survived to assist in humanitarian work related to the April 1906 eruption of Mount Vesuvius. In 1908, she joined the French fleet in Mediterranean waters.

In 1913, she underwent an overhaul, giving her a system that would work for years to come - like many outdated pre-dreadnoughts of the time.

When the First World War broke out in Europe in the summer of 1914, the former dreadnoughts, although generally obsolete, had to continue to serve in many navies. Bouvet was used to protect convoys in the early days, but her most high-profile operation was in the Dardanelles in March 1915. The Dardanelles, a narrow strait connecting the Aegean and Marmara Seas, was used against protected Turkish coastal positions with its artillery.

Her problems started. The resulting damage was so severe that Bouvet sank in just two minutes with 660 of her 710 crew. When two British warships followed and a third was damaged, the Allies could finally see the minefield.

Due to the threat posed by the minefields, the bombing was cancelled and preparations were made for the disastrous Gallipoli campaign that followed.

The Bouvet was declared sunk on 18 March 1915, ending her brief wartime career.