France (1899) – Protected Cruiser A “tin-clad cruiser” The term was used often to describe rival Italian and French cruisers of the interwar, sacrificing all for speed. But the French cruiser Jurien de la Gravière twenty years before was at the same time the last French “protected” cruiser and one of the thinnest built. The … Read more
France (1907): Edgar Quinet, Waldeck-Rousseau France’s last armoured cruisers The last French cruiser-battleships, and by far the most imposing, were the two Edgar Quinet, which constituted at the same time a synthesis of all the acquired experience in design for this particular type of ship and at the same time an additional milestone in the … Read more
France (1895) – Torpedo mothership/Seaplane carrier First life: As a torpedo boat mothership The Foudre in still well remembered from, studied, and related upon as an interesting experiment and pioneering ship at the fall of the XIXth century. The Foudre “Lightning” was originally a pure product of the Jeune Ecole (“Young School”). It was a … Read more
France (1893) – Casabianca, Cassini, D’Iberville The D’Iberville class in brief The three ships of this class, Casabianca, Cassini and Iberville were put into service between 1894 and 1896. They came a few years after the two Lévrier 1891, but differed in all. Larger and nearly twice as heavy, they had a forecastle and raised … Read more
France (1897) – Dunois, La Hire A strange mix of characteristics The Torpedo Cruiser was a development of the controversial Jeune École (“Young school”) a strategic naval concept that argued that the large ironclad battleships then being built in Europe could be easily and cheaply defeated by small torpedo-armed warships. Most nations including UK would … Read more
