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Masséna (1895)
Encyclopedia
Masséna was a pre-dreadnought
battleship of the French Navy
, launched in July 1895 at Ch. de la Loire. She was named in honour of Marshal of France
André Masséna
. Lucien Lacaze was her captain.
She was an advanced version of the Charles Martel
, progenitor of a class of four roughly similar ships (Jauréguiberry
and Bouvet
were the other members of the pseudo-class), but she was not considered very successful as she was 900 tons overweight.
She was hulked at Toulon
in 1915, later being towed to Turkey
where on 10 November 1915 she was scuttled at Sedd-el-Bahr, at the end of the Gallipoli Peninsula
, to create a breakwater for the French landing force there.
favoured by French designers, and capitalised on the bulging sides of the vessels. The bow and stern turrets had only a single gun and were placed uncomfortably close to the extremities of the ship in Masséna because she was 4 metres (13.1 ft) to 7 metres (23 ft) shorter than the other ships in the group. The single turrets of the secondary armament were mounted on the ship's beam, while the 138 millimetres (5.4 in) guns were mounted in eight single turrets sited symmetrically behind and outboard of the main gun turrets.
of 22 metre and a draught
of 8.84 metre. She displaced 11924 tonnes (11,736 LT) at normal load and 12007 tonnes (11,817.3 LT) at full load.
s provided steam for the engines at a pressure of 15 kg/cm2. She normally carried 750 tonnes (738 LT) of coal, but could carry a maximum of 980 tonnes (965 LT). This gave her a radius of action of 3520 nautical mile.
Massénas main armament consisted of two 305 millimetres (12 in) 45-calibre
Canon de 305 mm Modèle 1893 guns in two single-gun turrets, one each fore and aft. Each turret had an arc of fire of 250°. The guns could probably be depressed to −5° and elevated to 15°. They fired 340 kilograms (749.6 lb) projectiles at the rate of 1 round per minute at a muzzle velocity
of 780 metres per second (2,559.1 ft/s) which gave a range of 12000 m (13,123.4 yd) at maximum elevation.
Her secondary armament consisted of two Canon de 274 mm Modèle 1893 guns in two single-gun turrets, one amidships on each side, sponson
ed out over the tumblehome of the ship's sides. Eight 45-calibre 138 mm Canon de 138.6 mm Modèle 1891 guns were mounted in manually operated twin turrets at the corners of the superstructure with 160° arcs of fire. The guns could depress to -10° and elevate to +25°. They fired 36.5 kilograms (80.5 lb) armour-piercing
shells at a muzzle velocity of 725 metres per second (2,378.6 ft/s) which gave a range of 15000 m (16,404.2 yd) at maximum elevation. Their rate of fire was about 4 rounds per minute.
Masséna participated in the Gallipoli invasion along with other French pre-dreadnoughts during the First World War. She was beached at Cape Helles by her crew after hitting mines and was hulked. Along with the old French cargo-liner Saghalien sunk nearby, she formed a breakwater for evacuating Allied troops in January 1916.
Pre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought battleship is the general term for all of the types of sea-going battleships built between the mid-1890s and 1905. Pre-dreadnoughts replaced the ironclad warships of the 1870s and 1880s...
battleship of the French Navy
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
, launched in July 1895 at Ch. de la Loire. She was named in honour of Marshal of France
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
André Masséna
André Masséna
André Masséna 1st Duc de Rivoli, 1st Prince d'Essling was a French military commander during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars....
. Lucien Lacaze was her captain.
She was an advanced version of the Charles Martel
French battleship Charles Martel (1893)
The Charles Martel was an ironclad battleship of the French Navy. She was designed before the era of the dreadnought, and at a time when battleship design theory in terms of armour and armament was changing continually...
, progenitor of a class of four roughly similar ships (Jauréguiberry
French battleship Jauréguiberry
Jauréguiberry was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the French Navy , launched in 1893. She was one of the class of five roughly similar battleships built in the 1890s, including Masséna, Bouvet, Carnot, and Charles Martel; Jauréguiberry and the latter two are sometimes erroneously referenced as a...
and Bouvet
French battleship Bouvet
The Bouvet was a French pre-dreadnought battleship, launched in 1896 and sunk by a mine in 1915 during World War I.Bouvet, named for the maritime family of Bouvet de Lozier, the most famous being French Admiral François Joseph Bouvet, belonged to the Jauréguiberry quasi-class which comprised...
were the other members of the pseudo-class), but she was not considered very successful as she was 900 tons overweight.
She was hulked at Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
in 1915, later being towed to Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
where on 10 November 1915 she was scuttled at Sedd-el-Bahr, at the end of the Gallipoli Peninsula
Gallipoli
The Gallipoli peninsula is located in Turkish Thrace , the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles straits to the east. Gallipoli derives its name from the Greek "Καλλίπολις" , meaning "Beautiful City"...
, to create a breakwater for the French landing force there.
Design and description
The Charles Martel group of battleships all shared the same layout for their main and secondary armament—a design that minimised the cramped upper decks produced by the pronounced tumblehomeTumblehome
In ship designing, the tumblehome is the narrowing of a ship's hull with greater distance above the water-line. Expressed more technically, it is present when the beam at the uppermost deck is less than the maximum beam of the vessel....
favoured by French designers, and capitalised on the bulging sides of the vessels. The bow and stern turrets had only a single gun and were placed uncomfortably close to the extremities of the ship in Masséna because she was 4 metres (13.1 ft) to 7 metres (23 ft) shorter than the other ships in the group. The single turrets of the secondary armament were mounted on the ship's beam, while the 138 millimetres (5.4 in) guns were mounted in eight single turrets sited symmetrically behind and outboard of the main gun turrets.
General characteristics
Masséna was 110 metre long overall. She had a maximum beamBeam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
of 22 metre and a draught
Draft (hull)
The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
of 8.84 metre. She displaced 11924 tonnes (11,736 LT) at normal load and 12007 tonnes (11,817.3 LT) at full load.
Propulsion
Masséna had three vertical triple expansion steam engines. On trials they developed 14200 ihp and drove the ship to a maximum speed of 17 knots (9.3 m/s). Twenty-four Belleville water-tube boilerWater-tube boiler
A water tube boiler is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which heats water in the steam-generating tubes...
s provided steam for the engines at a pressure of 15 kg/cm2. She normally carried 750 tonnes (738 LT) of coal, but could carry a maximum of 980 tonnes (965 LT). This gave her a radius of action of 3520 nautical mile.
Armament
Caliber (artillery)
In artillery, caliber or calibredifference in British English and American English spelling is the internal diameter of a gun barrel, or by extension a relative measure of the length....
Canon de 305 mm Modèle 1893 guns in two single-gun turrets, one each fore and aft. Each turret had an arc of fire of 250°. The guns could probably be depressed to −5° and elevated to 15°. They fired 340 kilograms (749.6 lb) projectiles at the rate of 1 round per minute at a muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity is the speed a projectile has at the moment it leaves the muzzle of the gun. Muzzle velocities range from approximately to in black powder muskets , to more than in modern rifles with high-performance cartridges such as the .220 Swift and .204 Ruger, all the way to for tank guns...
of 780 metres per second (2,559.1 ft/s) which gave a range of 12000 m (13,123.4 yd) at maximum elevation.
Her secondary armament consisted of two Canon de 274 mm Modèle 1893 guns in two single-gun turrets, one amidships on each side, sponson
Sponson
Sponsons are projections from the sides of a watercraft, for protection, stability, or the mounting of equipment such as armaments or lifeboats, etc...
ed out over the tumblehome of the ship's sides. Eight 45-calibre 138 mm Canon de 138.6 mm Modèle 1891 guns were mounted in manually operated twin turrets at the corners of the superstructure with 160° arcs of fire. The guns could depress to -10° and elevate to +25°. They fired 36.5 kilograms (80.5 lb) armour-piercing
Armor-piercing shot and shell
An armor-piercing shell is a type of ammunition designed to penetrate armor. From the 1860s to 1950s, a major application of armor-piercing projectiles was to defeat the thick armor carried on many warships. From the 1920s onwards, armor-piercing weapons were required for anti-tank missions...
shells at a muzzle velocity of 725 metres per second (2,378.6 ft/s) which gave a range of 15000 m (16,404.2 yd) at maximum elevation. Their rate of fire was about 4 rounds per minute.
Service
In 1900, four engineering officers were disassembling a pipe to repair it. However, they disasssembled it too quickly, and were severely scalded by escaping steam.Masséna participated in the Gallipoli invasion along with other French pre-dreadnoughts during the First World War. She was beached at Cape Helles by her crew after hitting mines and was hulked. Along with the old French cargo-liner Saghalien sunk nearby, she formed a breakwater for evacuating Allied troops in January 1916.