| Career (France) | |
|---|---|
| Namesake: | Charles Martel |
| Ordered: | 10 September 1890[1] |
| Builder: | Brest |
| Laid down: | 1 August 1891[1] |
| Launched: | 29 August 1893[1] |
| Commissioned: | 10 January 1896[1] |
| Decommissioned: | 1 April 1914[1] |
| In service: | 1897[1] |
| Struck: | 30 October 1919[1] |
| Fate: | Broken up in 1921 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Battleship |
| Length: | 119[1] |
| Beam: | 22.2[1] |
| Draught: | 8.5[1] |
| Installed power: | 15 000 shp |
| Propulsion: | 24 boilers steam engine, 2 shafts[1] |
| Speed: | 18 knots |
| Complement: | 644 |
| Armament: |
2 x 305mm/45 Modèle 1887 guns |
| Armour: |
Belt: 480 mm |
The Charles Martel was an ironclad battleship of the French Navy. She was designed before the era of the dreadnought, and at a time when battleship design theory in terms of armour and armament was changing continually. She therefore had no identical sister-ships; the late nineteenth century saw the French navy receive a number of one-off designs demonstrating developing concepts in these areas.
She was the first French battleship to use nickel-plated steel for her armour.
Contents |
The French battleship Charles Martel was laid down in 1883 at Toulon.[2][3] Building was slow, and construction was suspended in 1886 as a result of a change in French naval policy consequent upon the appointment of Admiral Hyacinthe-Laurent-Theóphile Aube as Minister of Marine.[4] Following further shifts in policy her construction was resumed, and she was launched in August 1893 and completed in June 1897.[5][6] The very protracted period between the laying down and the completion of this ship has given rise to statements in British secondary sources[7] that there were two ships of the same name. French contemporary sources appear to disprove this statement; there is, however full agreement that only one ship of this name existed, being extant through the late part of the nineteenth century and early part of the century before being stricken in 1922 (see below).
The primary armament was two 12-inch (305mm) 45-calibre Mark 1887 guns, disposed in single turrets fore and aft. The forecastle gun was twenty-eight feet above water at normal draught, and had an arc of fire of some 250 degrees. The quarterdeck gun was twenty-two feet above water at normal draught, also with an arc of fire of 250 degrees.[8] Each gun weighed 46.5 tons; the weight of an armour-piercing shot was 644 pounds. The muzzle velocity was 2,700 feet/second, and the shot would penetrate eleven inches of armour at a range of 5,000 yards. Rate of fire was one round per gun per minute.[9]
Charles Martel carried a secondary armament of two 10.8 inch (275mm) 45-calibre Mark 1887 guns, disposed in single turrets on either beam at upper deck level, being the same level as the after 12-inch turret. Each gun weighed 35 tons, and fired an armour piercing shot weighing 476 pounds at a muzzle velocity of 1,969 feet/second. An armour-piercing round would penetrate six inches of armour at a range of 5,000 yards. The arc of fire was 180 degrees, being from directly forward to directly aft. Because, unlike the primary turrets, these guns were not hydraulically worked, the rate of fire was only one round per gun in two minutes.[10]
Tertiary armament consisted of eight 5.5 inch (140mm) 45-calibre quick-firing (QF) guns, in individual turrets. On each beam one was level with the foremast on the upper deck, one on either side of the midships 10.8 inch turret but one deck lower on the maindeck, and one beside the after 12-inch turret, also on maindeck level.[11] The arcs of fire of all tertiary guns was about 150 degrees. The weight of each gun was 4.5 tons, and the weight of the armour-piercing shell fired was 66 pounds. This shell would penetrate three inches of armour at 3,000 yards, which was adequate when used against small craft.[12]
Four 9-pounder QF and twenty 3-pounder QF guns were mounted in the superstructure.
She was completed with four torpedo tubes, two above water and two below. The above-water tubes were removed shortly after completion.[11]
The armour belt was complete, running from stem to stern. It was seven and a half feet wide, with five feet nine inches being below the water-line when the ship was at normal load and normal draught. The top of the belt was eighteen inches thick amidships, tapering to ten inches at the lower edge. Forward of the forward main barbette the belt thinned to twelve inches, and aft of the after main barbette the thickness was ten inches. An upper belt of four inches thickness was situated immediately above the main belt; it also ran from stem to stern, and was ten feet wide forward, four feet wide amidships and six feet six inches aft.[11]
The armoured deck was composed of armour 2.75 inches thick, at the level of the upper edge of the main armour belt. A second armoured deck of 1.3 inch thick armour was positioned at the level of the lower edge of the main belt.[13]
The main 12-inch and 10.8 inch turrets were protected with armour of fifteen inches thickness, and their bases with six inch thickness. The smaller turrets turrets received four-inch plate.[14]
The conning tower had armour of nine and one quarter inches thickness.
The total weight of armour installed was 3,700 tons.[15]
Power was provided by two sets of vertical triple expansion reciprocating engines, driving two screws. Steam was provided by a total of twenty-four Lagrafel d'Allest boilers; the designed shaft horse power (SHP) was 14,500, and the designed maximum speed was 18 knots.[16] Normal fuel load carried was 650 tons of coal, and the maximum load was 980 tons.[11]
The career of Charles Martel was wholly uneventful. There is no record of her ever leaving French waters; she took no part in World War I and was stricken and broken up in 1922.[17]
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