Ship Type Menu.Screw gun launches
ALERTE class (launched 1855)
No.1 class (launched 1859)
No.11 (launched 1859)
No.12 class (sectional, launched 1860-61)
ALERTE class
screw gun launches| Displacement: | 144t |
| Dimensions: | 101ft 5in wl, 101ft 10in deck x 20ft 4in x 4ft 4in mean, 4ft 9in max. |
| Same, meters: | 30.90, 31.03 x 6.20 x 1.33, 1.46m |
| Machinery: | 25nhp (FCM). 2 cylinders. Coal 12t |
| Hull material: | Wood |
| Armament: | 1-16cm rifle forward, 2-18p carronades on sides. (Alerte 1870) 1-14cm No.2 MLR, 2-12cm bronze field |
| Complement: | 40 |
| Name | Builder | Launched | Fate |
| ALERTE | Toulon | 9.5.55 | Stk. 29.12.74 |
| BOURRASQUE | Toulon | 12.5.55 | Stk. 20.6.67 |
| COULEUVRINE | Toulon | 16.5.55 | Stk. 16.3.68 |
| MEURTRIERE | Toulon | 30.5.55 | Stk. 30.4.68 |
| MUTINE | Toulon | 23.5.55 | Stk. 29.12.74 |
| RAFALE | Toulon | 3.5.55 | Stk. 8.11.62 |
| STRIDENTE | Toulon | 27.5.55 | Lost 1.9.59 |
| TIRAILLEUSE | Toulon | 4.5.55 | Stk. 24.4.76 |
This class was built for the Crimean War.
Alerte became a lighter and was BU 1884.
Meurtrière was sold on the Danube station in 1868.
Mutine was BU 1883.
Rafale became a hulk and was BU 1865.
Stridente washed ashore in a tidal wave at Rufisque, Senegal.
No.1 class
screw gun launches| Displacement: | 101t |
| Dimensions: | 81ft 0in wl x 16ft 1in x 5ft 3in mean, 5ft 9in max. |
| Same, meters: | 24.70 x 4.90 x 1.60, 1.75m |
| Machinery: | 16nhp (FCM). 1 cylinder, 7.25kts. Coal 10t |
| Hull material: | Wood |
| Armament: | 1-16 cm rifle M1858 behind an armored bulwark |
| Complement: | 18 |
| Name | Builder | Launched | Fate |
| No.1 | FCM La S. | 1859 | Stk. 7.9.65 |
| No.2 | FCM La S. | 1859 | Stk. 7.9.65 |
| No.3 | FCM La S. | 1859 | Stk. 7.9.65 |
| No.4 | FCM La S. | 1859 | Stk. 7.9.65 |
| No.5 | FCM La S. | 1859 | Stk. 7.9.65 |
| No.6 | FCM La S. | 1859 | Transf. 1859 |
| No.7 | FCM La S. | 1859 | Transf. 1859 |
| No.8 | FCM La S. | 1859 | Transf. 1859 |
| No.9 | FCM La S. | 1859 | Transf. 1859 |
| No.10 | FCM La S. | 1859 | Transf. 1859 |
These craft were ordered from FCM La Seyne on 24.12.58 for the Northern Italian campaign.
No.1 thru
No.5 were reclassified as service craft (tugs) after being stricken and were named
Poulmic,
Précieuse,
Va-et-Vient,
Modeste, and
Minou respectively. They were BU respectively in 1896, 1876, 1914, 1882, and 1905.
No.6 thru
No.10 were transferred as a gift to the King of Sardinia before commissioning and became the Italian
Frassineto,
Sesia,
Torrione,
Castenedolo, and
Pozzolengo respectively. They were assembled on Lake Garda.
No.11 screw gun launch| Displacement: | 127t |
| Dimensions: | 86ft 7in wl x 20ft 10in x 5ft 2in mean, 5ft 11in max. |
| Same, meters: | 26.40 x 6.34 x 1.58, 1.80m |
| Machinery: | 16nhp (FCM). 1 cylinder. Coal 16t |
| Hull material: | Wood |
| Armament: | 1-16cm M1858 MLR behind armored bulwark |
| Complement: | 18 |
| Name | Builder | Launched | Fate |
| No.11 (GUEPE) | Arman Bord. | 1859 | Stk. 15.1.78 |
No.11 was designed by Capitaine de Vaisseau Dupouy and ordered from Arman, Bordeaux, under a contract of 15.12.58. She was named
Guêpe in 1866.
Guêpe became a tug in 1878, a port service craft in 1888, and was BU 1897.
No.12 class
screw sectional gun launches| Displacement: | 89t |
| Dimensions: | 81ft 0in wl x 16ft 1in x 4ft 11in mean |
| Same, meters: | 24.70 x 4.90 x 1.50m |
| Machinery: | 20nhp (FCM).8.0kts |
| Hull material: | Iron |
| Armament: | 1-16cm rifle |
| Complement: | 20 |
| Name | Builder | Ln. | Fate |
| No.12 (ARC) | FCM Le H. | 1860 | Lost 8.10.73 |
| No.13 (CARABINE) | FCM Le H. | 1860 | Stk. 23.4.89 |
| No.14 (SAINTE ANNE) | FCM Le H. | 1860 | Stk. 20.6.72 |
| No.15 | FCM Le H. | 1860 | Lost 14.10.63 |
| No.16 (CASSE-TETE) | FCM Le H. | 1860 | Stk. 22.7.67 |
| No.17 | FCM Le H. | 1860 | Lost 4.2.61 |
| No.18 (CIMETERRE) | FCM Le H. | 1860 | Stk. 7.8.70 |
| No.19 (COUTELAS) | FCM Le H. | 1860 | Stk. 21.4.85 |
| No.20 (DAGUE) | FCM Le H. | 1860 | Stk. 24.12.78 |
| No.21 (SAINTE MARIE) | FCM Le H. | 1860 | Stk. 2.4.72 |
| No.22 (EPEE) | FCM Le H. | 1860 | Lost 25.1.67 |
| No.23 (ESPINGOLE) | FCM Le H. | 1860 | Stk. 24.12.78 |
| No.24 (FAUCONNEAU) | FCM Le H. | 1860 | Stk. 7.8.70 |
| No.25 | FCM Le H. | 1860 | Lost 3.3.62 |
| No.26 | FCM Le H. | 1860 | Lost 28.1.61 |
| No.27 (FAULX) | FCM Le H. | 1860 | Stk. 24.12.78 |
| No.28 (FLAMBERGE) | FCM Le H. | 1860 | Stk. 21.4.85 |
| No.29 (FLEURET) | FCM Le H. | 1860 | Stk. 1.3.78 |
| No.30 (FRAMEE) | FCM Le H. | 1860 | Stk. 5.6.91 |
| No.31 (GLAIVE) | FCM Le H. | 1860 | Stk. 21.4.85 |
No.12-
No.31 was ordered under a contract of 30.11.59 for an expedition to China and built by FCM at their Le Havre yard. Those that survived received names in 1866. Nine later units of the same class,
No.32-
No.40, were ordered from FCM in 11.63 for use in Indochina. Another ten,
Arbalète,
Biscaïen,
Boutefeu,
Mousquet,
Fronde,
Javelot,
Dard,
Epieu,
Pertuisane, and
Flambant were ordered by a foreign government from FCM, but conditions in 1866 made delivery impossible and the navy took them over. A further ten, the
Baïonnette group, were ordered from Claparède in 1867, still on the 1859 plans.
No.12,
No.17, and
No.26 were lost under tow off the coasts of China and Indochina, while
No.15,
No.22, and
No.25 were lost to boiler explosions in the same region.
Copyright © Stephen S. Roberts 2004-2015.