''Framée'' was the name ship of her class of four

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

s built for the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

around the beginning of the 20th century. Completed in mid-1900, she was sunk in a collision with the predreadnought battleship two months later with the loss of 47 men.

Design and description

The ''Framée''s used the same hull design as the preceding , but had a more powerful propulsion plant. The ships had an

overall length The overall length (OAL) of an ammunition cartridge is a measurement from the base of the brass shell casing to the tip of the bullet, seated into the brass casing. Cartridge overall length, or "COL", is important to safe functioning of reloads i ...

of , a beam of , and a maximum

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

of . They displaced at normal load. They were powered by a pair of triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one

propeller shaft A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power, torque, and rotation, usually used to connect o ...

using steam provided by four

Normand boiler Three-drum boilers are a class of water-tube boiler used to generate steam, typically to power Steamship, ships. They are compact and of high evaporative power, factors that encourage this use. Other boiler designs may be more efficient, although ...

s. The engines were designed to produce a total of to give the ships a speed of .Roberts, p. 375 During her

sea trial A sea trial or trial trip is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on op ...

s in early 1900, ''Framée'' reached a speed of .Roche, p. 215 The ships carried enough coal to give them a range of at . Their complement consisted of 4 officers and 57 enlisted men. The ''Framée''-class ships were armed with a single gun forward of the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

and six

Hotchkiss gun The Hotchkiss gun can refer to different types of the Hotchkiss arms company starting in the late 19th century. It usually refers to the 1.65-inch (42 mm) light mountain gun. There were also navy (47 mm) and 3-inch (76 mm) ...

s, three on each broadside. They were fitted with two single rotating

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s, one between the

funnel A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its constructi ...

s and the other on the

stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. O ...

Construction and career

''Framée'' (

Spear A spear is a polearm consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with Fire hardening, fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable materia ...

) was ordered from Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire on 27 October 1897 and the ship was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

later that year at its

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

as the name ship of her class. She was launched on 29 June 1899 and arrived at

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

on 25 January 1900 for fitting out and to conduct her sea trials that lasted through June. Although ''Framée'' was assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron () on 29 June, she was temporarily assigned to the Northern Squadron () while awaiting her sailing orders.Roberts, p. 376 On the night of 10/11 August 1900, while returning from exercises in the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

, she collided with ''Brennus'' off Cape St. Vincent. ''Framée'' sank quickly, with 47 of her crew of 61 killed.Jordan & Caresse, p. 219 The ship was struck from the navy list on 26 October.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Framee Framée-class destroyers Ships built in France 1899 ships Ships sunk in collisions Maritime incidents in 1900 Shipwrecks