Gaulois |
|
| Career (France) | |
|---|---|
| Namesake: | Gaul people |
| Laid down: | 1895 |
| Launched: | 1896 |
| Commissioned: | December 1899 |
| Struck: | 27 December 1916 |
| Fate: | Sunk on 27 December 1916 by U-boat UB-47 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Charlemagne class battleship |
| Displacement: | 11,300 tonnes |
| Length: | 118 m |
| Beam: | 20.5 m |
| Draught: | 8.40 m |
| Propulsion: | 2 steam engines, 3 shafts, 14,500 hp (10,800 kW) |
| Speed: | 18 knots (33 km/h) |
| Complement: | 725 men |
| Armament: |
2 × 2 - 305 mm Mle 1893/96 guns |
| Armour: |
belt : 250-400 mm |
The Gaulois was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the French Navy.
In 1915, along with her sister-ship Charlemagne, she took part in the Naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign, under admiral Guépratte. The French squadron was leading the assault, and the Gaulois suffered hits from the Turkish forts. She was seriously damaged and in danger of sinking when the Bouvet hit a mine and exploded. The Gaulois managed to beach herself to avoid a complete loss. She was refloated and brought back to service. However, on 27 December 1916, as she sailed for Corfu, she was torpedoed and sunk by the U-boat UB-47.
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The Gaulois was the second and last battleship to be constructed from the Charlemagne-class. She was laid down in January 1895 and after almost two years of construction, she was launched on 8 October 1896. Three years later, she was formally commissioned into the French Navy in December 1899.[1]
The Gaulois displaced 11,300 tonnes (11,100 long tons), was 118 metres (387 ft) long, had a beam of 20.5 metres (67 ft) and a draught of 8.4 metres (28 ft). She was manned by 694 men.[1] Equipped with a set of two steam engines rated at 14,500 indicated horsepower (10,800 kW), the Gaulois could move at a maximum speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph).[1] She was one of the first French ships to be armed with twin mounted main guns, although a low displacement severely diminished the capability of them.[1] The ship's main guns were four 305 mm Mle 1893/96 guns. The main battery was augmented by a secondary battery of ten single 138 millimetres (5.4 in) guns and a tertiary battery of eight 100 millimetres (3.9 in). She was also armed with four 450 millimetres (18 in) torpedo tubes.[1]
In World War I, the Gaulois participated in the Gallipoli Campaign during her time serving in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. On 18 March 1915, the battleship was located in Turkish waters 8 miles (13 km) inside of the Dardanelles and came under fire from Turkish fixed and mobile artillery batteries. Gaulois was at the time located at the far left of the IV French battleship squadron. During the attack on the battleship squadron, Gaulois was badly damaged by a large shell from a nearby Turkish fort which hit the ship below her waterline near the bow and tore the hull plating apart. The battleship was seriously damaged and almost sank following the battleship Bouvet striking a mine and exploding next to her. However, she was able to beach herself on Rabbit Island, north of Tenedos and saved herself from sinking. Gaulois then pumped the remaining water in her hull out, was patched and refloated and travelled to Malta for proper repairs. Following these repairs, Gaulois returned to active service.[1][2]
Gaulois was to not survive the war. On 27 December 1916, the German U-boat UB-47 was on patrol in the Aegean Sea and her captain, Wolfgang Steinbauer, met the Gaulois. Although she was fully protected by light cruisers and naval trawlers,[3] UB-47 was still able to sink the pre-dreadnought battleship east of Cerigo.[4] Two of Gaulois' crew members were killed following the initial explosion from the torpedo that UB-47 had fired and another two men died in the aftermath of the ship's sinking.[5] UB-47 was able to escape the scene unharmed and continued her patrol.[3] She was to survive the war and later be handed over to the Allies following the end of World War I.[6]