French protected cruiser Châteaurenault
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators: |
 French Navy
|
| Preceded by: | Guichen |
| Succeeded by: | Destrées class |
| Built: | 1895-1902 |
| In commission: | 1902-1917 |
| Completed: | 1 |
| Lost: | 1 |
| History | |
 France
|
|
| Name: | Châteaurenault |
| Namesake: | François Louis de Rousselet, Marquis de Châteaurenault |
| Laid down: | 12 October 1895 |
| Launched: | 12 May 1898 |
| Commissioned: | 10 October 1902 |
| Fate: | Sunk by German submarine UC-38, 14 December 1917 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Protected cruiser |
| Displacement: | 8,200 tonnes (8,070 long tons) |
| Length: | 140 m (459 ft 4 in) |
| Beam: | 18 m (59 ft 1 in) |
| Draught: | 7.5 m (24 ft 7 in) |
| Installed power: | 24,000 shp (17,897 kW) |
| Propulsion: | du Temple-Normand small-tube boiler, direct-flame sub-version |
| Speed: | 24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph) |
| Complement: | 625 |
| Armament: |
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Châteaurenault was a protected cruiser of the French Navy intended for commerce raiding. She was the first ship of the French Navy named in honour of François Louis de Rousselet, Marquis de Châteaurenault.
Launched on 24 March 1898, Châteaurenault was commissioned in October 1902.
In 1904, she was damaged after accidentally running into an underwater rock.
In 1910, she ran aground on Spartel, and had to be taken in tow by the Victor Hugo.
From 1913, she was used as a schoolship in Toulon.
Recommissioned at the outbreak of the First World War, Châteaurenault patrolled the Mediterranean. In 1917, she was used as a troopship, ferrying soldiers from Taranto to Itea. On 5 October 1917, she rescued survivors of the liner Gallia, torpedoed by the Imperial German Navy submarine U-35, and saved 1,200 men.
On 14 December 1917, in the Mediterranean Sea at 38°15′N 20°22′E / 38.250°N 20.367°E, German U-boat UC-38, commanded by Hans Hermann Wendlandt, met the convoy comprising Châteaurenault and her escorts Mameluck, Rouen and Lansquenet.UC-38 approached and fired one torpedo at 06:47, striking Châteaurenault amidships. UC-38 then dived to 38 metres (125 ft), while Mameluck and Rouen rushed to the launching position of the torpedo, and Lansquenet started picking up people thrown overboard by the explosion. Châteaurenault requested her escorts to close in and evacuate Army personnel, which was completed by 07:26. The trawler Balsamine came to the rescue and made attempts to take Châteaurenault in tow.
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Wikipedia