N° 5 Class Torpedo Boat (1876)
Two N° 5 class torpedo boats were completed for the French Navy in 1876.
| Overview of 2 vessels | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citations for this data available on individual ship pages | |||||
| Name | Builder | Laid Down | Launched | Completed | Fate |
| N° 5 | John I. Thornycroft & Company, Chiswick | 1875 | 1876 | Discarded c. 1887 | |
| N° 6 | John I. Thornycroft & Company, Chiswick | 1875 | 1876 | Discarded 1890 | |
Design & Construction
Designed by John I. Thornycroft & Company's naval architects along lines proposed on 17 March, 1875 by the Commission Permanente des Défenses Sous-Marines. The hull plates were 1.5 mm thick, increased to 5 mm over the vitals as protection against small arms fire. The machinery was very lightweight and achieved a power-to-weight performance of 19 kg/hp.[1]
Performance
The two boats' acceptance trials were considered very satisfactory. The acceptance report described the results as "remarkable", praising the design and of the boats' "extremely light and careful workmanship of the hull and machinery". The machinery "leaves nothing to be desired as to performance... engines excellent".[2] Unfortunately they were much less successful in service, having miserable accomodations (their decks being only 1.5 meters high) and an awkward equipment layout that interfered with the operation of their spar torpedoes.[3]
Armament
- Two spar torpedoes
See Also
Footnotes
- ↑ Le Masson. Torpilleur. p. 282.
- ↑ "... le résults remarquable obtenu par Mr Thornycroft doit être attributé surtout aux bonnes dispositions adoptées: formes de carène très étudiées, disposition de l'hélice, tirage trés actif, grande légèreté et exécution soignée de la coque et des machines... ne laisse rien à désirer comme exécution... engins précieux..." Quoted in Le Masson. Torpilleur. p. 282.
- ↑ Le Masson. Torpilleur. p. 282.
- ↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. p. 330.
- ↑ Le Masson. Torpilleur. p. 282.
Bibliography
- Chesneau, Robert; Kolesnik, Eugene (editors) (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. (on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk).
- Le Masson, Henri (1967). Histoire du Torpilleur en France. Paperback ed. Paris: Académie de Marine.
- Lyon, David; Winfield, Rif (2004). The Sail & Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy, 1815-1889. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1861760329. (on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk).
| N° 5 Class Torpedo Boat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| N° 5 | N° 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| <– | N° 3 | Torpedo Boats (FR) | N° 4 | –> | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
