French gunboat Zélée
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| History | |
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| Name: | Zélée |
| Fate: | Sunk during the Bombardment of Papeete, 22 September 1914 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Surprise-class gunboat |
| Displacement: | 646 tons |
| Length: | 184 ft (56 m) |
| Beam: | 26 ft (7.9 m) |
| Draught: | 10.15 ft (3.09 m) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) |
| Armament: |
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| Armour: | Hardened steel-plated hull |
Zélée was a Surprise class gunboat of the French Navy. Designed for use overseas, she was used largely in the French colonies in Indochina and the Pacific. Assigned to patrol the waters off Tahiti at the start of World War I, she was sunk before scuttling could be completed during the Bombardment of Papeete on 22 September 1914.
Present at Papeete during a devastating hurricane in February 1906, Zélée's commander was asked to assist with rescue efforts on the quarantine island of Motauta, but refused due to the high risk involved. Instead he lent the islands station master an open boat and left him with the task of finding men to man it.
At the outbreak of World War I, Zélée was stationed at Papeete and took part in the first French naval action of the war. The German cargo ship Walkure had been loading a cargo of pearls at an island 50 miles from Tahiti. Zélée approached her, raised the French flag, and demanded her surrender. The German captain had not yet learned of the state of war between Germany and France and at first thought the entire situation was a joke and invited Zélée's commanding officer aboard for dinner; instead, Zélée took Walkure as a prize and brought her back to Tahiti.
On 22 September 1914, the Imperial German Navy armored cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau entered the port of Papeete. They sank Zélée and Walkure and bombarded the port.
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