French cruiser Tage

Tage was a protected cruiser built for the French Navy in the 1880s, the second vessel of that type built for the French fleet. The design was based on the previous cruiser, Sfax, and like that vessel, Tage was intended to be used as a commerce raider to attack merchant shipping. As such, she carried a barque sailing rig to supplement her steam engines for long voyages overseas. Tage was armed with a main battery of eight 164 mm (6.5 in) guns and had a curved armor deck that was 51 to 56 mm (2 to 2.2 in) thick.

Tage early in her career
Class overview
Preceded by: Sfax
Succeeded by: Amiral Cécille
History
France
Name: Tage
Ordered: 1885
Builder: Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire
Laid down: July 1885
Launched: 28 October 1886
Completed: December 1890
Stricken: 1910
Fate: Broken up
General characteristics
Displacement: 7,469 long tons (7,589 t)
Length: 118.87 m (390 ft) loa
Beam: 16.3 m (53 ft 6 in)
Draft: 7.67 m (25 ft 2 in)
Installed power:
Propulsion:
Speed: 19.2 knots (35.6 km/h; 22.1 mph)
Complement: 538
Armament:
Armor:

Tage spent the 1890s operating in the Mediterranean Sea, either as part of the active Mediterranean Squadron or in the Reserve Squadron, which was typically activated for annual training exercises with the rest of the fleet. The ship was modernized in 1900, which included the installation of new boilers, removal of her sailing rig, and other alterations. She operated with the Newfoundland and Iceland Naval Division and later the Atlantic Squadron in the early 1900s. Tage was ultimately struck from the naval register in 1910 and then broken up for scrap.

Design

In 1878, the French Navy embarked on a program of cruiser construction authorized by the Conseil des Travaux (Council of Works) for a strategy aimed at attacking British merchant shipping in the event of war. The program called for ships of around 3,000 long tons (3,048 t) with a speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph). The first four vessels of the program were wood-hulled unprotected cruisers, but a planned fifth vessel, originally intended along the same lines, was radically re-designed as the first modern protected cruiser of the French fleet. This ship, Sfax, provided the template for Tage, the next cruiser ordered under the program in 1885.[1]

Characteristics

Tage was 118.87 m (390 ft) long overall, with a beam of 16.3 m (53 ft 6 in) and a draft of 7.67 m (25 ft 2 in). She displaced 7,469 long tons (7,589 t). Her hull featured a pronounced ram bow and short fore and sterncastles. As was typical for French warships of the period, she had a pronounced tumblehome shape and an overhanging stern. Tage's hull was constructed primarily of steel, but her keel and sternpost were iron. Her superstructure was minimal, consisting primarily of a small conning tower forward. Her crew consisted of 538 officers and enlisted men.[2][3]

Tage was propelled by a pair of horizontal, three-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, each driving a four-bladed, bronze screw propeller. Steam was provided by twelve coal-burning fire-tube boilers that were ducted into funnels located amidships. The boilers were divided into three groups of four, each group in its own watertight boiler room. The power plant was rated to produce 12,500 indicated horsepower (9,300 kW) for a top speed of 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph). On steam trials, she reached 17.8 knots (33.0 km/h; 20.5 mph) from 8,115 ihp (6,051 kW) using normal draft and 19.2 knots (35.6 km/h; 22.1 mph) from 12,110 ihp (9,030 kW) using forced draft. Coal storage amounted to 915 long tons (930 t) normally and up to 1,500 long tons (1,500 t) at full load. To supplement the steam engines on long voyages, she was originally fitted with a barque sailing rig with three masts. Her cruising radius was 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km; 9,200 mi), though the speed required for the distance is unknown.[2][3][4]

The ship was armed with a main battery of eight 164 mm (6.5 in) 30-caliber (cal.) guns carried in individual pivot mounts. Six of the guns were mounted in sponsoned on the upper deck, three on each broadside, while the other two were placed in embrasures in the forecastle. These weapons were supported by a secondary battery of ten 138 mm (5.4 in) 30 cal. guns that were carried in a main deck battery amidships. For close-range defense against torpedo boats, she carried five 47 mm (1.9 in) 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns, a single 47 mm Hotchkiss revolver cannon, and fourteen 37 mm (1.5 in) 1-pounder Hotchkiss revolvers, all in individual mounts. She also carried seven 380 mm (15 in) torpedo tubes in her hull above the waterline.[2]

The ship was protected by a wrought iron armor deck that was 51 mm (2 in) on the flat portion that covered her propulsion machinery spaces and magazines. Toward the sides of the ship, the deck sloped down and increased in thickness slightly to 56 mm (2.2 in); the sloped sides terminated at the hull 1.30 m (4 ft 3 in) below the waterline. The main deck battery had transverse bulkheads that were 89 mm (3.5 in) on either end. Her conning tower had 76 to 89 mm (3 to 3.5 in) sides. Between the armor and main decks, a cofferdam was erected at sides of the ship, which was lined with cellulose to contain flooding in the event of damage.[2][3]

Service history
Map of the western Mediterranean, where Tage operated for most of her career

Work on Tage began with her keel laying at the Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire shipyard in July or August 1885.[2][5] She was launched on 28 October 1886,[6] moved to the Arsenal de Brest for fitting out,[2] and was completed in December 1890.[2] In 1892, Tage was assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron, where she served as part of the reconnaissance force for the main French battle fleet, along with the cruisers Sfax, Amiral Cécille, and Lalande. The ship participated in that year's fleet maneuvers, which began on 23 June and concluded on 11 July.[7] By 1893, Tage 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. At that time, the unit also included several older ironclads and the cruisers Davout, Sfax, Forbin, and Condor.[8]

Tage took part in the fleet maneuvers in 1894; from 9 to 16 July, the ships involved took on supplies in Toulon for the maneuvers that began later on the 16th. A series of exercises included shooting practice, a blockade simulation, and scouting operations in the western Mediterranean. The maneuvers concluded on 3 August.[9] Tage returned to the Mediterranean Squadron in 1895, joining the recently completed cruiser Suchet and the three Troude-class cruisers.[10] She took part in the fleet maneuvers that year, which began on 1 July and concluded on the 27th. She was assigned to "Fleet A", which along with "Fleet B" represented the French fleet, and was tasked with defeating the hostile "Fleet C", which represented the Italian fleet.[11]

The ship was still formally assigned to the Reserve Squadron in 1896, though she was out of service for repairs that year.[12] That year, she was reduced to the 2nd category of reserve, along with several old coastal defense ships, ironclads, and other cruisers. They were retained in a state that allowed them to be mobilized in the event of a major war.[13] In 1897, Tage was reactivated to participate in the second phase of the exercises of the Northern Squadron. These lasted from 18 to 21 July, and the scenario saw the Tage and Sfax simulate a hostile fleet steaming from the Mediterranean Sea to attack France's Atlantic coast. In the course of the exercises, the Northern Squadron successfully intercepted the cruisers and "defeated" them.[14]

Tage was modified in 1900, receiving new Bellville type water-tube boilers in place of her original boilers. Her main mast was removed and her rigging was cut down. Two of her 138 mm guns and three of the torpedo tubes were removed and her light battery was revised to six 3-pounders and sixteen 1-pounders. Coal storage was reduced to a maximum of 980 long tons (1,000 t).[2] The next year, she was stationed in Brest, France, though she was not attached to the Northern Squadron.[15] In 1902, she was assigned to the Newfoundland and Iceland Naval Division, serving with the cruisers D'Estrées, Suchet, and Descartes.[16] The unit was tasked with patrolling fishing areas off the coast of North America. She remained on the station the following year, and she was joined by the cruiser Lavoisier.[17] Later in 1903, she was transferred to the Atlantic Squadron, which had previously been amalgamated with the Northern Squadron. At that time, the unit consisted of Tage, Troude, and D'Estrées.[18] Later that year, Tage was relieved by the armored cruiser Dupleix.[19] The ship was struck from the naval register in 1910,[2] and was then sold to ship breakers and dismantled.[6]

Notes
  1. Ropp, p. 109.
  2. Gardiner, p. 308.
  3. Ships: France, p. 463.
  4. Fisher, pp. 237.
  5. Fisher, p. 235.
  6. Gardiner & Gray, p. 193.
  7. Thursfield 1892, pp. 61–67.
  8. Brassey 1893, p. 70.
  9. Barry, pp. 208–212.
  10. Brassey 1895, p. 50.
  11. Gleig, pp. 195–196.
  12. Brassey 1896, p. 62.
  13. Weyl, p. 96.
  14. Thursfield 1898, pp. 140–143.
  15. Leyland, p. 72.
  16. Brassey 1902, p. 52.
  17. Meirat, p. 21.
  18. Brassey 1903, pp. 58–60.
  19. Gardiner, p. 944.

References
  • Barry, E. B. (1895). "The Naval Manoeuvres of 1894". The United Service: A Monthly Review of Military and Naval Affairs. Philadelphia: L. R. Hamersly & Co. XII: 177–213. OCLC 228667393.
  • Brassey, Thomas A. (1893). "Chapter IV: Relative Strength". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 66–73. OCLC 496786828.
  • Brassey, Thomas A. (1895). "Chapter III: Relative Strength". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 49–59. OCLC 496786828.
  • Brassey, Thomas A. (1896). "Chapter III: Relative Strength". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 61–71. OCLC 496786828.
  • Brassey, Thomas A. (1902). "Chapter III: Relative Strength". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 47–55. OCLC 496786828.
  • Brassey, Thomas A. (1903). "Chapter III: Relative Strength". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 57–68. OCLC 496786828.
  • Fisher, Edward C., ed. (1969). "157/67 French Protected Cruiser Tage". Warship International. Toledo: International Naval Research Organization. VI (3): 235–237. ISSN 0043-0374.
  • Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-133-5.
  • Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1921. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-907-8.
  • Gleig, Charles (1896). Brassey, Thomas A. (ed.). "Chapter XII: French Naval Manoeuvres". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 195–207. OCLC 496786828.
  • Leyland, John (1901). Brassey, Thomas A. (ed.). "Chapter IV: Comparative Strength". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 71–79. OCLC 496786828.
  • Meirat, Jean (1975). "Details and Operational History of the Third-Class Cruiser Lavoisier". F. P. D. S. Newsletter. Akron: F. P. D. S. III (3): 20–23. OCLC 41554533.
  • Ropp, Theodore (1987). Roberts, Stephen S. (ed.). The Development of a Modern Navy: French Naval Policy, 1871–1904. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-141-6.
  • "Ships: France". Journal of the American Society of Naval Engineers. III (1): 462–464. 1891.
  • Thursfield, J. R. (1892). Brassey, Thomas A. (ed.). "Foreign Naval Manoeuvres". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 61–88. OCLC 496786828.
  • Thursfield, J. R. (1898). Brassey, Thomas A. (ed.). "II: French Naval Manoeuvres". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 138–143. OCLC 496786828.
  • Weyl, E. (1896). Brassey, Thomas A. (ed.). "Chapter IV: The French Navy". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 61–72. OCLC 496786828.
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