French seaplane carrier Foudre

Foudre, first seaplane carrier in history, with hangar and cranes.
History
France
Name	Foudre
Namesake	Lightning
Builder	Ateliers et Chantiers de la Gironde Converted to a seaplane carrier at Arsenal de Toulon
Laid down	9 June 1892
Launched	20 Oct 1895
Completed	1896 (as a torpedo boat depot ship)
Decommissioned	1 Dec 1921
Fate	Scrapped
General characteristics
Type	Torpedo boat tender / Seaplane carrier
Tonnage	6,100 tonnes (6,004 long tons)
Length	118.8 m (389 ft 9 in)
Beam	15.5 m (50 ft 10 in)
Draught	7 m (23 ft 0 in)
Installed power	12,000 shp (8,948 kW)
Propulsion	Triple expansion engines, 24 boilers, 2 shafts
Speed	19 knots (35 km/h)
Boats & landing craft carried	8 torpedo boats
Complement	430
Armament	8 × 100 mm (4 in) guns 4 × 65 mm (2.6 in) guns 2 × torpedo tubes
Armour	Deck : 120 mm (4.7 in)
Aircraft carried	4 seaplanes after conversion

The Foudre was a French seaplane carrier, the first in history.^[1][2] Her development followed the invention of the seaplane in 1910 with the French Le Canard.

In 1877, a French Commission on Underwater Defence investigated proposals of very small torpedo boats that could be carried by large warships, and as a result ordered two 18.3 m (60 ft; 720 in) long torpedo launches (No. 29 and No. 30) (designated Torpilleurs Vedettes) from the British company Thornycroft, which were followed by a further four similar boats (Nos. 56–59), while the transport Japon was converted to carry the launches for trials, which started in 1881.^[3][4] In 1890, it was decided to built a replacement for Japon,^[5] and the new ship, originally to be named Seine,^[5] was laid down on 9 June 1892 at the Forges et Chantiers de la Gironde shipyard at Bordeaux.^[6] The ship was renamed Foudre during construction, and was launched on 20 October 1895 and completed in 1896.^[5]

Foudre was 116.0 m (380 ft 7 in) long overall and 106.7 m (350 ft),^[6] with a beam of 15.60 m (51 ft 2 in) and a draught of 7.14 m (23 ft 5 in).^[3] Displacement was 6,090 t (5,994 long tons).^[3] Two triple expansion engines were fed by 24 coal-fired boilers and drove two propeller shafts. The machinery was rated at 11,500 ihp (8,600 kW), giving a speed of 19 kn (22 mph; 35 km/h).^[3]

The ship had an arched protective armour deck, with a thickness of between 117–58 mm (4.6–2.3 in), while the ship's conning tower was protected by 120 mm (4.7 in) of armour.^[3] Armament consisted of eight 100 mm M1891 guns, four 65 mm M1891 guns and four 47 mm M1885 guns.^[6] Eight torpedo launches could be carried, either the original boats tested by Japon or eight boats built to a new design (A–B and D–I) from 1894.^[3][6]

Foudre was first commissioned in 1896 as a torpedo boat tender (Croiseur porte-torpilleurs), with the role of helping bring torpedo boats to the high seas, and launch them for attack.^[7] She was then modified as repair ship in 1907, as a minelayer in 1910, as a seaplane carrier in 1911 (depot, transport, and launch by crane), and seaplane carrier with a flying-off deck in 1913. She was initially converted to carry torpedo-carrying planes in hangars on the main deck. They were lowered on the sea with a crane.^[8]

In April 1910, Vice-Admiral Auguste Boué de Lapeyrère, Navy Minister, established a committee to study the usage of balloons and planes by the navy.

On 29 November 1911 a navy airbase was established at Fréjus Saint-Raphaël, and the torpedo boat tender Foudre was sent to the naval yard in Toulon to be converted as a seaplane tender. The ship was fitted out in a totally new way. A deck was installed at the bow for the seaplane to take off. The seaplane would land on the water, and be craned on board for stowing.

A float-equipped Canard Voisin seaplane was bought by the navy for this purpose in December 1911. The Foudre would be stationed at Fréjus, working as a seaplane tender, allowing for stowage, repair and supply of the seaplanes. The ship was armed on 15 April 1912, and trials with the Canard Voisin then started.

On 1 May 1912 the Navy Ministry purchased several more seaplanes, a monoplane Breguet with a single float, a Nieuport with double float, and a converted Farman biplane.

Experiments at sea started with the Foudre in July 1912 during tactical exercises in the Mediterranean. The Canard Voisin, and a new foldable Nieuport were used. During the exercises, in which a wargame simulated the fight of two rival navies, the use of the Nieuport allowed the discovery of a surprise attack by the "adversary". During the summer of 1912 many flights of the Canard Voisin from the Foudre were accomplished in the bay of Saint-Raphaël.

By the middle of 1913, the navy had 11 seaplane pilots. The Foudre was again used in large-scale naval exercises. One of its planes, a Nieuport used for observations, foiled a "surprise attack" by a group of warships. Five more seaplanes were ordered following these exercises.

In November 1913, a 10-meter flying-off deck was installed, with the objective of using it for a Caudron G.3 seaplane. The plane successfully lifted off from the ship on 8 May 1914. At the beginning of the war, the platform was dismantled, and further experiments were postponed to a later date.

During World War I her roles were numerous, ranging from submarine tender to seaplane/aircraft transport, and headquarters ship in 1916. She was employed as an aviation school ship after the war.^{[citation needed]}

• Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds. (1979). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.
• Gibbs, Jay (2015). "Question 26/51: Torpedo Boat Carriers". Warship International. LII (3): 212–214. ISSN 0043-0374.
• Layman, R. D. (1989). Before the Aircraft Carrier: The Development of Aviation Vessels 1849–1922. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-516-0.
• Roberts, Stephen S. (2021). French Warships in the Age of Steam 1859–1914. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5267-4534-7.
• Le Roy, Thierry (January 1996). "L'escadrille de Port Said: Première escadrille de l'aviation maritime française 1914–1916 (1^e partie)" [The Port Said Squadron: The First French Naval Aviation Squadron 1914–1916]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (34): 29–31. ISSN 1243-8650.
• Le Roy, Thierry (February 1996). "L'escadrille de Port Said: Première escadrille de l'aviation maritime française 1914–1916 (2^e partie)". Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (35): 18–21. ISSN 1243-8650.
• Le Roy, Thierry (March 1996). "L'escadrille de Port Said: Première escadrille de l'aviation maritime française 1914–1916 (Fin)". Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (36): 31–36. ISSN 1243-8650.

• Moulin, Jean (2020). Tous les porte-aéronefs en France: de 1912 à nos jours [All the Aircraft Carriers of France: From 1912 to Today]. Collection Navires et Histoire des Marines du Mond; 35 (in French). Le Vigen, France: Lela Presse. ISBN 978-2-37468-035-4.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Foudre (ship, 1895).

• L'avènement de l'Aviation Maritime (in French)
• Les hydravions des frères CAUDRON (in French)
• Les Canards de Gabriel Voisin (HTML), PDF file with images