Protected Cruisers: Classless

[Brian James]

Protected Cruiser Davout pictured at Arsenal de Rochefort c 1893...She was armed with a main battery of six 6.5 inch guns in single mounts, and she had a top speed of 20.7 knots...Built in Toulon, her keel laying took place in September 1887 and she was launched on October 31st 1889. She began sea trials in 1890, but these were delayed after problems with her propulsion system required multiple repairs and alterations, including the brazing of her boiler tubes, which had to be redone. The pistons in her engines also had to be replaced. She was completed in 1891. By 1893, Davout had been assigned to the Reserve Squadron, where she spent six months of the year on active service with full crews for maneuvers; the rest of the year was spent laid up with a reduced crew. Davout was sent to Rochefort in 1893 to have her guns replaced with quick-firing versions of the same calibre..She had a relatively uneventful career. After entering service in 1893, she was assigned to the Reserve Squadron, based in the Mediterranean Sea. The ship spent the rest of the decade operating either with the Reserve Squadron for training exercises or as part of the training unit of the French fleet. In 1899, she received a major overhaul that included the installation of new boilers, and in 1902, she was assigned to the North Atlantic Station. By 1910, she had been struck from the naval register, and Davout was subsequently sold to ship breakers.

[Brian James]

Second Class Protected Cruiser Duguay-Trouin pictured at Port Lyttleton in 1894.