French cruiser Isly

Plan and profile sketch of the Alger class, incorrectly depicting a sailing rig

Admiral Théophile Aube, the French Minister of Marine in the mid-1880s, was an ardent supporter of the Jeune École doctrine that emphasized long-range commerce raiding cruisers. Upon becoming the naval minister in 1886, Aube called for the construction of six large and ten small protected cruisers, though by the end of his tenure in 1887, the program had been reduced to five large, two medium, and six small cruisers. Aube ordered the first two Alger-class cruisers to fulfill the requirements for the first set of large cruisers, and his successor, Édouard Barbey, authorized Isly.[1][2] The three Algers proved to be the last of the initial series of commerce raiders built under the influence of the Jeune École.[3]

Isly was 105 m (344 ft 6 in) long between perpendiculars, with a beam of 12.98 m (42 ft 7 in) and a draft of 6.10 to 6.45 m (20 ft 0 in to 21 ft 2 in). She displaced 4,406 long tons (4,477 t). Her crew varied over the course of her career, amounting to 387–405 officers and enlisted men. The ship's propulsion system consisted of a pair of triple-expansion steam engines driving two screw propellers. Steam was provided by eight coal-burning fire-tube boilers that were ducted into two funnels. Her machinery was rated to produce 8,000 indicated horsepower (6,000 kW) for a top speed of 19 to 19.5 knots (35.2 to 36.1 km/h; 21.9 to 22.4 mph).[4] She had a cruising radius of 3,200 nautical miles (5,900 km; 3,700 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[3]

The ship was armed with a main battery of four 164 mm (6.5 in) 28-caliber guns and six 138 mm (5.4 in) 30-cal. guns. All of these guns were placed in individual pivot mounts; the 164 mm guns were in sponsons located fore and aft, with two guns per broadside. Four of the 138 mm guns were in sponsons between the 164 mm guns, one was in an embrasure in the forecastle and the last was in a swivel mount on the stern. For close-range defense against torpedo boats, she carried a pair of 65 mm (2.6 in) 9-pounder guns, eight 47 mm (1.9 in) 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns, and eight 37 mm (1.5 in) Hotchkiss revolver cannon. She was also armed with five 350 mm (14 in) torpedo tubes in her hull above the waterline. Armor protection consisted of a curved armor deck that was 50 to 100 mm (2 to 4 in) thick, along with 50 to 75 mm (2 to 3 in) plating on the conning tower.[4]

Isly was laid down at the Arsenal de Brest in Brest, France in August 1887, the first member of her class to begin construction. She was launched on 23 June 1891 and was completed in 1893, the last member of her class to enter service.[5][6] She completed her sea trials in May that year, during which she reached a top speed of 18.5 knots (34.3 km/h; 21.3 mph) using forced draft, though the test was conducted in poor weather that reduced the ship's speed by about half a knot.[7] Later that year, she was assigned to the Reserve Division of the Northern Squadron, which that time included the ironclad Suffren, the coastal defense ships Tonnerre and Fulminant, and the torpedo cruiser Epervier.[8]

The following year, she continued to operate with the squadron. She took part in annual training exercises that year to evaluate the effectiveness of the French coastal defense system. The squadron went to sea on 15 July and began the operations the next day, which lasted until 29 July. The maneuvers demonstrated the usefulness of torpedo boat flotillas in coastal defense, but highlighted that France's coastal defense system in the English Channel was not yet complete.[9]

Isly was sent with her sister ship Alger on a cruise to French Indochina in 1895.[10] She remained on station in the Far East into 1896, but was ordered home that year.[11] In 1897, Isly returned to the Far East in company with the recently completed protected cruiser Descartes; they joined the old ironclad Bayard and the unprotected cruiser Eclaireur.[12] Isly had returned to France by 1899, when she was assigned to the North Atlantic station in Brest on 15 March.[13]

The ship was laid up in 1900 for an overhaul that included the replacement of her original wood decks with linoleum-covered steel. She remained out of service through early 1901 and was recommissioned on 8 April for service in the fisheries in the Atlantic. She was assigned to the Naval Division of the Atlantic Ocean, along with the protected cruisers Suchet and Amiral Cécille. Isly operated with the transport vessel Manche, patrolling the fishing grounds off Newfoundland for six months of the year.[14][15] The next year, Isly was decommissioned for a major overhaul, which included the installation of new water-tube boilers.[16] In 1908, the Naval Division of the Atlantic was amalgamated with the Northern Squadron, and Isly was transferred to that command, commissioning for service on 1 January in Lorient. By that time, the squadron consisted of eight armored cruisers and four other protected cruisers. Isly was temporarily sent to French Morocco early in the year in company with the armored cruiser Kléber.[17][18] In 1909, Isly was converted into a depot ship for destroyers and was likely condemned for disposal two years later.[3] Isly was struck from the naval register in 1914 and subsequently sold to ship breakers for disposal.[6]

• Barry, E. B. (1895). "The Naval Manoeuvres of 1894". The United Service: A Monthly Review of Military and Naval Affairs. Philadelphia: L. R. Hamersly & Co. XII: 177–213. OCLC 228667393.
• Brassey, Thomas A. (1893). "Chapter IV: Relative Strength". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 66–73. OCLC 496786828.
• Brassey, Thomas A. (1895). "Chapter III: Relative Strength". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 49–59. OCLC 496786828.
• Brassey, Thomas A. (1896). "Chapter III: Relative Strength". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 61–71. OCLC 496786828.
• Brassey, Thomas A. (1897). "Chapter III: Relative Strength". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 56–77. OCLC 496786828.
• Brassey, Thomas A. (1908). "Chapter III: Comparative Strength". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 48–57. OCLC 496786828.
• Dorn, E. J. & Drake, J. C. (July 1894). "Notes on Ships and Torpedo Boats". Notes on the Year's Naval Progress. Washington, D.C.: United States Office of Naval Intelligence. XIII: 3–78. OCLC 727366607.
• Fisher, Edward C., ed. (1969). "157/67 French Protected Cruiser Isly". Warship International. Toledo: International Naval Research Organization. VI (3): 238. ISSN 0043-0374.
• Garbett, H., ed. (May 1901). "Naval Notes: France". Journal of the Royal United Service Institution. London: J. J. Keliher & Co. XVI (279): 610–614. OCLC 1077860366.
• Garbett, H., ed. (1903). "Naval Notes: France". Journal of the Royal United Service Institution. London: J. J. Keliher & Co. XLVII (299): 84–89. OCLC 1077860366.
• Garbett, H., ed. (January 1908). "Naval Notes: France". Journal of the Royal United Service Institution. London: J. J. Keliher & Co. LLI (359): 100–103. OCLC 1077860366.
• Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-133-5.
• Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1921. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-907-8.
• Leyland, John (1901). Brassey, Thomas A. (ed.). "Chapter IV: Comparative Strength". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 71–79. OCLC 496786828.
• "Naval Notes: France". Journal of the Royal United Service Institution. London: J. J. Keliher & Co. XLIII (254): 322–324. April 1899. OCLC 1077860366.
• Ropp, Theodore (1987). Roberts, Stephen S. (ed.). The Development of a Modern Navy: French Naval Policy, 1871–1904. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-141-6.