French cruiser Surcouf

Profile drawing of an early version of the Forbin design, incorrectly depicting a sailing rig

Beginning in 1879, the French Navy's Conseil des Travaux (Council of Works) had requested designs for small but fast cruisers of about 2,000 long tons (2,032 t) displacement that could be used as scouts for the main battle fleet. The unprotected cruiser Milan was the first of the type, which was developed into the Forbin-type of protected cruisers after the Conseil requested light armor protection for the ships.[1][2] The three Forbins, along with the three very similar Troude-class cruisers, were ordered by Admiral Théophile Aube, then the French Minister of Marine and an ardent supporter of the Jeune École doctrine.[3][4]

Surcouf was 95 m (311 ft 8 in) long at the waterline, with a beam of 9 m (29 ft 6 in) and a draft of 5.23 m (17 ft 2 in). She displaced 2,012 long tons (2,044 t). Her crew amounted to 199 officers and enlisted men. The ship's propulsion system consisted of a pair of compound steam engines driving two screw propellers. Steam was provided by six coal-burning fire-tube boilers that were ducted into two funnels. Her machinery was rated to produce 5,800 indicated horsepower (4,300 kW) for a top speed of 20 to 20.5 knots (37.0 to 38.0 km/h; 23.0 to 23.6 mph).[5]

The ship was armed with a main battery of four 138 mm (5.4 in) 30-caliber guns in individual pivot mounts, all in sponsons with two guns per broadside. For close-range defense against torpedo boats, she carried three 47 mm (1.9 in) 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns and four 37 mm (1.5 in) 1-pounder Hotchkiss revolver cannon. She was also armed with four 350 mm (14 in) torpedo tubes in her hull below the waterline, and she had provisions to carry up to 150 naval mines. Armor protection consisted of a curved armor deck that was 41 mm (1.6 in) thick, along with a cofferdam and thin anti-splinter deck covering the machinery spaces.[5]

Later in her career, Surcouf was modernized. She had all of her torpedo tubes, and she received five more 47 mm guns. Her boilers were modified to incorporate mixed coal and oil firing.[5]

Surcouf was laid down at the Arsenal de Cherbourg in May 1886 in Cherbourg, and was launched in October 1888. She was completed in 1890.[5] She conducted her sea trials that year.[6] In 1893, Surcouf had a small conning tower installed.[5] That year, she was assigned to the Northern Squadron, which that time included the ironclads Requin and Victorieuse, the coastal defense ship Furieux, and the cruiser Alger.[7] The following year, Surcouf 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 Channel was not yet complete.[8]

She remained in the unit through 1895. The squadron was kept in commission for only four months per year. The unit at that time consisted of Furieux, the ironclads Requin, Victorieuse, and Suffren, the armored cruiser Latouche-Tréville, and the protected cruisers Jean Bart and Coëtlogon.[9] Surcouf took part in the annual fleet maneuvers that began on 1 July; as she was in partial commission, she had to take on naval reservists in Cherbourg to bring her crew to the full number. The exercises took place in two phases, the first being a simulated amphibious assault in Quiberon Bay, and the second revolving around a blockade of Rochefort and Cherbourg. The maneuvers concluded on the afternoon of 23 July.[10]

By 1896, she was reduced to the 2nd category of reserve, along with several old coastal defense ships, ironclads, and other cruisers. They were retained in a state that allowed them to be mobilized in the event of a major war.[11] Surcouf was mobilized in 1897 to participate in the large-scale maneuvers of that year with the Northern Squadron, which were held in July. Surcouf and the bulk of the squadron were tasked with intercepting the coastal defense ship Bouvines, which was to steam from Cherbourg to Brest between 15 and 16 July. As with the previous year's maneuvers, the defending squadron was unable to intercept Bouvines before she reached Brest. The squadron then moved to Quiberon Bay for another round of maneuvers from 18 to 21 July. This scenario saw the protected cruisers Sfax and Tage simulate a hostile fleet steaming from the Mediterranean Sea to attack France's Atlantic coast. Unlike the previous exercises, Surcouf and the rest of the Northern Squadron successfully intercepted the cruisers and "defeated" them.[12]

Surcouf was reactivated in 1898 and was assigned to the Northern Squadron, by which time the unit consisted of the ironclad Hoche, four modern coastal defense ships, a pair of armored cruisers, and the protected cruiser Friant.[13] She took part in the annual maneuvers in July and August that year, which consisted of three phases. In the first, she and nine torpedo boats were assigned the task of breaking through a blockade of the Baie de Douarnenez conducted by the rest of the squadron. The ships successfully eluded the blockaders and escaped the bay. The second consisted of an attack on the fortifications of Brest by the entire squadron, and the third saw the fleet conduct an amphibious assault near Douarnenez.[14] She remained in the unit the following year, by which time the unit was completely reorganized. It then consisted of six of the French Navy's older ironclads, a pair of armored cruisers, the protected cruiser Catinat, and three smaller cruisers.[15]

By January 1901, Surcouf and both of her sister ships had been reduced to the reserve fleet,[16] but later that year, she was assigned to the Northern Squadron.[17] That year, the annual fleet maneuvers were conducted from 3 to 28 July. During the exercises, the Northern Squadron steamed south for joint maneuvers with the Mediterranean Squadron. The Northern Squadron ships formed part of the hostile force, and as it was entering the Mediterranean from the Atlantic, represented a German squadron attempting to meet its Italian allies.[18] In 1902, she was sent to join the French squadron in East Asia, which at that time included five other protected cruisers.[19] She had returned to France at some point before 1904, when she was assigned to the Northern Squadron. That year, she was kept in commission for six months, with the rest of the year spent out of service with a reduced crew.[20] She remained in service with the Northern Squadron through 1908, by which time, the unit consisted of eight armored cruisers and four other protected cruisers.[21] At some point later in World War I, Surcouf was sent to replace Friant in the Gulf of Guinea, where she remained until the end of the conflict.[22] The ship was struck from the naval register in 1921,[5] and was thereafter broken up for scrap.[23]

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