French seaplane carrier Foudre

The Foudre was a French seaplane carrier, the first in history.[1][2] Her development followed the invention of the seaplane in 1910 with the French Le Canard.

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Foudre.
Foudre, first seaplane carrier in history, with hangar and cranes.
History
France
NameFoudre
Namesake"Lightning"
BuilderChantiers de la Gironde, France
Laid down9 June 1892
Launched20 Oct 1895
Completed1896 (as a torpedo boat depot ship)
Decommissioned1 Dec 1921
FateScrapped
General characteristics
TypeTorpedo boat tender / Seaplane carrier
Tonnage6,100 tonnes (6,004 long tons)
Length118.8 m (389 ft 9 in)
Beam15.5 m (50 ft 10 in)
Draught7 m (23 ft 0 in)
Installed power12,000 shp (8,948 kW)
PropulsionTriple expansion engines, 24 boilers, 2 shafts
Speed19 knots (35 km/h)
Boats & landing
craft carried		8 torpedo boats
Complement430
Armament
ArmourDeck : 120 mm (4.7 in)
Aircraft carried4 seaplanes after conversion

Torpedo boat tender
Foudre as a torpedo boat tender.
Foudre tending torpedo boats.

The Foudre was first commissioned in 1896 as a torpedo boat tender (Croiseur porte-torpilleurs), with the role of helping bring torpedo boats to the high seas, and launch them for attack.

She was then modified as repair ship in 1907, as a minelayer in 1910, as a seaplane carrier in 1911 (depot, transport, and launch by crane), and seaplane carrier with a flying-off deck in 1913. She was initially converted to carry torpedo-carrying planes in hangars on the main deck. They were lowered on the sea with a crane.[3]

First seaplane carrier

In April 1910, Vice-Admiral Auguste Boué de Lapeyrère, Navy Minister, established a committee to study the usage of balloons and planes by the navy.

Seaplane tender

On 29 November 1911 a navy airbase was established at Fréjus Saint-Raphaël, and the torpedo boat tender Foudre was sent to the naval yard in Toulon to be converted as a seaplane tender. The ship was fitted out in a totally new way. A deck was installed at the bow for the seaplane to take off. The seaplane would land on the water, and be craned on board for stowing.

Tactical exercises of the seaplane Canard Voisin with the seaplane carrier Foudre, in June 1912.

A float-equipped Canard Voisin seaplane was bought by the navy for this purpose in December 1911. The Foudre would be stationed at Fréjus, working as a seaplane tender, allowing for stowage, repair and supply of the seaplanes. The ship was armed on 15 April 1912, and trials with the Canard Voisin then started.

On 1 May 1912 the Navy Ministry purchased several more seaplanes, a monoplane Breguet with a single float, a Nieuport with double float, and a converted Farman biplane.

Canard Voisin seaplane under trial in August 1911.

Experiments at sea started with the Foudre in July 1912 during tactical exercises in the Mediterranean. The Canard Voisin, and a new foldable Nieuport were used. During the exercises, in which a wargame simulated the fight of two rival navies, the use of the Nieuport allowed the discovery of a surprise attack by the "adversary". During the summer of 1912 many flights of the Canard Voisin from the Foudre were accomplished in the bay of Saint-Raphaël.

By the middle of 1913, the navy had 11 seaplane pilots. The Foudre was again used in large-scale naval exercises. One of its planes, a Nieuport used for observations, foiled a "surprise attack" by a group of warships. Five more seaplanes were ordered following these exercises.

Liftoff platform experiments
A Caudron seaplane, being craned on La Foudre in April 1914.

In November 1913, a 10-meter flying-off deck was installed, with the objective of using it for a Caudron G.3 seaplane. The plane successfully lifted off from the ship on 8 May 1914. At the beginning of the war, the platform was dismantled, and further experiments were postponed to a later date.

World War I
Foudre circa 1914.

During World War I her roles were numerous, ranging from submarine tender to seaplane/aircraft transport, and headquarters ship in 1916. She was employed as an aviation school ship after the war.

Notes
  1. "The first ship to be transformed into a seaplane-carrier was the auxiliary cruiser Foudre in August 1912" (Fr: "le premier navire transformé en " porte-hydravions " est le croiseur auxiliaire Foudre en août 1912") French Defense Ministry
  2. "Le premier navire à être transformé en porte hydravion a été le croiseur auxiliaire Foudre en août 1911" "The first ship to be transformed into a seaplane carrier was the auxiliary cruiser Foudre in August 1911" Archived 2006-11-20 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Description of Foudre

Bibliography
  • Gibbs, Jay (2015). "Question 26/51: Torpedo Boat Carriers". Warship International. LII (3): 212–214. ISSN 0043-0374.
  • Le Roy, Thierry (January 1996). "L'escadrille de Port Said: Première escadrille de l'aviation maritime française 1914–1916 (1e partie)" [The Port Said Squadron: The First French Naval Aviation Squadron 1914–1916]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (34): 29–31. ISSN 1243-8650.
  • Le Roy, Thierry (February 1996). "L'escadrille de Port Said: Première escadrille de l'aviation maritime française 1914–1916 (2e partie)". Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (35): 18–21. ISSN 1243-8650.
  • Le Roy, Thierry (March 1996). "L'escadrille de Port Said: Première escadrille de l'aviation maritime française 1914–1916 (Fin)". Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (36): 31–36. ISSN 1243-8650.

Further reading
  • Moulin, Jean (2020). Tous les porte-aéronefs en France: de 1912 à nos jours [All the Aircraft Carriers of France: From 1912 to Today]. Collection Navires et Histoire des Marines du Mond; 35 (in French). Le Vigen, France: Lela Presse. ISBN 978-2-37468-035-4.
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