Empire Class Aviso
Stablock
Dimensions:
Displacement: 1,020 tons standard
Length: 55 meters
Width: 9.4 meters
Draught: 4.1 meters
Propulsion:
Twin sails, 4 coal fired boilers, 2 compound expansion system engines, 1 retractable screw
Speed: 15 knots max speed
Range: 3,000 kilometers at 10 knots
Protection:
20mm armored plating
Armament:
x3 155mmL/27 guns
x2 47mm/5 revolvers
x2 13mm Mitrailleuses
x2 double 400mm torpedo launchers
Crew:
102
General
The Empire-class Aviso is one of the Republic's light ships intended to secure the order of France in its colonial Empire, to defend French interests, to provide commerce raiding vessels, screening ships, scouts, and vessels capable of work in coastal regions. Small, with a narrow draft, a reasonably capable armament, extended cruising range with sails, and although unprotected built out of sturdy steel, and cheap of cost, the Empire-class are intended to be built in large numbers to guard France across the world. They are similar to corvettes in this role, but smaller, and more focused on littoral activities.
Origin
When France looked on its naval activities during the 1870 conflicts, it was heavily critical of the performance of its navy. Despite the greatest bravery in some actions, and general command of the sea, it was unable to bring nearly as decisive of a conclusion to war as had been thought possible. This was partially due to problems on land, but also due to the Navy's ill suited nature to littoral combat. France's navy began plans on a variety of gunboats post war, but it was also pointed out that the gunboats, while definitely to be a useful part of the Navy, were not as capable of sustained operations. Since France was becoming less concerned with a major conflict in Europe, it needed ships which could be operate overseas.
Such a quest for flexibility led France to its Avisos. Avisos performed relatively well during the war, and they seemed to offer a vessel that could bridge the gap between the Corvette and the Gunboat - cheap, capable of littoral operations, decently well armed, and able to engage in strategic mobility. While France did have a variety of Avisos in service, it was also of the view that many of these had been outpaced by developments, being wooden, lacking updated armament, and almost without exception slightly elderly. As a result, France wanted a new Aviso, correcting previous flaws and increasing speed, while also improving armament with more modern developments like the torpedo. This would be the Empire-class Aviso.
Form and dimensions
Empire-class vessels were designed with a tonnage of around 1,000 tons in mind, viewed as an acceptable compromise between smaller gunboats, and larger (2,000 ton) corvettes. They are built of steel, after the rejection of wood - France continued to believe to the utmost that the support of its steel industry was of the greatest necessity, and that it would be helpful for the longevity and capabilities of the ship. They represented the conclusion that the French fleet as a whole would be almost entirely built of steel, with only some light gunboats still being wooden - for now. The dimensions of the ship were 55 meters long, 9.4 meters wide, and with a draught of 4.1 meters. They carry twin sails.
Armament
These shhips could be expected to encounter a number of enemies in their operations. This would include enemy merchant ships, light warships, and potentially even enemy ironclads of large size. As a result they needed a general purpose armament capable of dealing with this multitude of foes. As a result, the Empire-class provided an armament including naval artillery, repeating weaponry, and torpedoes, packing a heavy punch against all enemies.
The main armament of the vessels continues to be naval artillery. There was a certain amount of debate over what weapons to use and what way to arrange them - the two manners being to use a forward chaser gun and broadside weapons, or to use barbettes. Ultimately the option to use barbettes was chosen, due to the belief that it would give greater flexibility with engagement on both sides, while not increasing the cost prohibitively. The ship was equipped with 155mm guns in three barbettes, one in the fore, one in the middle, and one in the rear, giving it a rather potent broadside. It has has two 47mm/5 revolver guns, these mounted in the two masts and enabling it to rain plunging fire on the enemy. Two mitrailleuses were also mounted, near the front to the side of the forward superstructure, providing for sweeping fire against the enemy.
However, there was also the belief that the ship needed an armament to give it a heavier punch against the enemy's larger ships. As a result, it was equipped with five torpedo tubes of 400mm. These are mounted in two dual torpedo tubes, along the centerline, between the front and mid, and mid and rear barbettes of 155mm respectively, while the fifth one is mounted submerged along the front bow. The ship carries 2 reloads as well, which means it isn't reduced to single shot capabilities with part of its torpedo armament.
Propulsion
A variety of demands were to be placed on the Empire-class. They had to have acceptable range, if not the sheer operational capacity of cruisers and other larger ships. At the same time it was desired that there was at least some decent speed; while the ships weren't to be the fast scouts of the fleet, they still needed to be able to run away from some of the enemy's ships. It was a testament to French engineering that these could be achieved.
From the start, it was believed that sails would still be useful for the vessels, since steam alone would be insufficient for colonial work. As a result, the ships were equipped with two masts, which would give them very good sustained sailing capabilities. In addition they had the regular steam propulsion systems, with 4 boileters, two compound expansion steam engines, and a single shaft with a hoisting screw for improved performance under sail. This produces a total power of some 1,200 ihp, enough for the ship to reach a total speed of 15 knots, while it has sufficient coal for operations of 3,000 kilometers at 10 knots.
Protection
Despite being built of steel, the Empire-class is rather lightly armored. This was to cut cost, decrease weight, and due the perceived impracticality of providing sufficient armor to the ship to protect it from the majority of enemy weapons. It has light armor plating of several dozen mm that cover the hull. This is in addition to the barbette mountings that provide similar amounts of protection. The masts have very light armoring to protect them against bullets, while it has gun shields for the 47mm/5 guns mounted in the masts to give protection to the crew. As a result, its protection is sufficient against enemy shrapnel, machine guns, and light cannon fire like those from 37-50mm guns. Still, it can't expect to take much in the way of damage.
Fire control and command
Due to their low individual worth, closer operations of range, and vulnerability to the enemy, it is not expected that the Empire-class will have the highly sophisticated fire control of other ships. They don't have the long ranged stereoscopic rangefinders, instead relying on simpler optical firing mechanisms, that are still mostly adequate for their role. Their firing directors were also eliminated, with the exception of a torpedo fire control director for firing torpedoes against enemy ships. They do have a single onboard searchlight, mounted on top of the forward superstructure, which means they have some capability for use in night actions. Given that night actions would be the best time to use their torpedoes to good effect, this is an important part of their systems.
There are no conning towers, and the ship only has an open command bridge. Since the ship will almost uniformly be working in colonial missions, and its protection is so limited anyway, it was not thought that a specialized conning tower would be justified.
There is a crew of some 102 sailors, sufficient for operating the various onboard systems and sustaining long term journeys.
Dimensions:
Displacement: 1,020 tons standard
Length: 55 meters
Width: 9.4 meters
Draught: 4.1 meters
Propulsion:
Twin sails, 4 coal fired boilers, 2 compound expansion system engines, 1 retractable screw
Speed: 15 knots max speed
Range: 3,000 kilometers at 10 knots
Protection:
20mm armored plating
Armament:
x3 155mmL/27 guns
x2 47mm/5 revolvers
x2 13mm Mitrailleuses
x2 double 400mm torpedo launchers
Crew:
102
General
The Empire-class Aviso is one of the Republic's light ships intended to secure the order of France in its colonial Empire, to defend French interests, to provide commerce raiding vessels, screening ships, scouts, and vessels capable of work in coastal regions. Small, with a narrow draft, a reasonably capable armament, extended cruising range with sails, and although unprotected built out of sturdy steel, and cheap of cost, the Empire-class are intended to be built in large numbers to guard France across the world. They are similar to corvettes in this role, but smaller, and more focused on littoral activities.
Origin
When France looked on its naval activities during the 1870 conflicts, it was heavily critical of the performance of its navy. Despite the greatest bravery in some actions, and general command of the sea, it was unable to bring nearly as decisive of a conclusion to war as had been thought possible. This was partially due to problems on land, but also due to the Navy's ill suited nature to littoral combat. France's navy began plans on a variety of gunboats post war, but it was also pointed out that the gunboats, while definitely to be a useful part of the Navy, were not as capable of sustained operations. Since France was becoming less concerned with a major conflict in Europe, it needed ships which could be operate overseas.
Such a quest for flexibility led France to its Avisos. Avisos performed relatively well during the war, and they seemed to offer a vessel that could bridge the gap between the Corvette and the Gunboat - cheap, capable of littoral operations, decently well armed, and able to engage in strategic mobility. While France did have a variety of Avisos in service, it was also of the view that many of these had been outpaced by developments, being wooden, lacking updated armament, and almost without exception slightly elderly. As a result, France wanted a new Aviso, correcting previous flaws and increasing speed, while also improving armament with more modern developments like the torpedo. This would be the Empire-class Aviso.
Form and dimensions
Empire-class vessels were designed with a tonnage of around 1,000 tons in mind, viewed as an acceptable compromise between smaller gunboats, and larger (2,000 ton) corvettes. They are built of steel, after the rejection of wood - France continued to believe to the utmost that the support of its steel industry was of the greatest necessity, and that it would be helpful for the longevity and capabilities of the ship. They represented the conclusion that the French fleet as a whole would be almost entirely built of steel, with only some light gunboats still being wooden - for now. The dimensions of the ship were 55 meters long, 9.4 meters wide, and with a draught of 4.1 meters. They carry twin sails.
Armament
These shhips could be expected to encounter a number of enemies in their operations. This would include enemy merchant ships, light warships, and potentially even enemy ironclads of large size. As a result they needed a general purpose armament capable of dealing with this multitude of foes. As a result, the Empire-class provided an armament including naval artillery, repeating weaponry, and torpedoes, packing a heavy punch against all enemies.
The main armament of the vessels continues to be naval artillery. There was a certain amount of debate over what weapons to use and what way to arrange them - the two manners being to use a forward chaser gun and broadside weapons, or to use barbettes. Ultimately the option to use barbettes was chosen, due to the belief that it would give greater flexibility with engagement on both sides, while not increasing the cost prohibitively. The ship was equipped with 155mm guns in three barbettes, one in the fore, one in the middle, and one in the rear, giving it a rather potent broadside. It has has two 47mm/5 revolver guns, these mounted in the two masts and enabling it to rain plunging fire on the enemy. Two mitrailleuses were also mounted, near the front to the side of the forward superstructure, providing for sweeping fire against the enemy.
However, there was also the belief that the ship needed an armament to give it a heavier punch against the enemy's larger ships. As a result, it was equipped with five torpedo tubes of 400mm. These are mounted in two dual torpedo tubes, along the centerline, between the front and mid, and mid and rear barbettes of 155mm respectively, while the fifth one is mounted submerged along the front bow. The ship carries 2 reloads as well, which means it isn't reduced to single shot capabilities with part of its torpedo armament.
Propulsion
A variety of demands were to be placed on the Empire-class. They had to have acceptable range, if not the sheer operational capacity of cruisers and other larger ships. At the same time it was desired that there was at least some decent speed; while the ships weren't to be the fast scouts of the fleet, they still needed to be able to run away from some of the enemy's ships. It was a testament to French engineering that these could be achieved.
From the start, it was believed that sails would still be useful for the vessels, since steam alone would be insufficient for colonial work. As a result, the ships were equipped with two masts, which would give them very good sustained sailing capabilities. In addition they had the regular steam propulsion systems, with 4 boileters, two compound expansion steam engines, and a single shaft with a hoisting screw for improved performance under sail. This produces a total power of some 1,200 ihp, enough for the ship to reach a total speed of 15 knots, while it has sufficient coal for operations of 3,000 kilometers at 10 knots.
Protection
Despite being built of steel, the Empire-class is rather lightly armored. This was to cut cost, decrease weight, and due the perceived impracticality of providing sufficient armor to the ship to protect it from the majority of enemy weapons. It has light armor plating of several dozen mm that cover the hull. This is in addition to the barbette mountings that provide similar amounts of protection. The masts have very light armoring to protect them against bullets, while it has gun shields for the 47mm/5 guns mounted in the masts to give protection to the crew. As a result, its protection is sufficient against enemy shrapnel, machine guns, and light cannon fire like those from 37-50mm guns. Still, it can't expect to take much in the way of damage.
Fire control and command
Due to their low individual worth, closer operations of range, and vulnerability to the enemy, it is not expected that the Empire-class will have the highly sophisticated fire control of other ships. They don't have the long ranged stereoscopic rangefinders, instead relying on simpler optical firing mechanisms, that are still mostly adequate for their role. Their firing directors were also eliminated, with the exception of a torpedo fire control director for firing torpedoes against enemy ships. They do have a single onboard searchlight, mounted on top of the forward superstructure, which means they have some capability for use in night actions. Given that night actions would be the best time to use their torpedoes to good effect, this is an important part of their systems.
There are no conning towers, and the ship only has an open command bridge. Since the ship will almost uniformly be working in colonial missions, and its protection is so limited anyway, it was not thought that a specialized conning tower would be justified.
There is a crew of some 102 sailors, sufficient for operating the various onboard systems and sustaining long term journeys.
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