French cruiser Aréthuse
Aréthuse was an unprotected cruiser built for the French Navy. The ship was laid down in 1879 and completed in 1885. Intended to serve as a long-range commerce raider, the ship was fitted with a sailing rig to supplement its steam engine on long voyages, and she carried an armament of four 165 mm (6.5 in) and twenty-two 140 mm (5.5 in) guns. She was among the final French unprotected cruisers, thereafter being replaced by more durable protected cruisers.
Aréthuse at the World's Columbian Exposition naval review in April 1893 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Preceded by | Naïade |
| Succeeded by | Dubourdieu |
| History | |
| France | |
| Name | Aréthuse |
| Builder | Arsenal de Toulon |
| Laid down | 11 February 1879 |
| Launched | 14 September 1882 |
| Commissioned | 1 January 1884 |
| Stricken | 1 December 1899 |
| Fate | Broken up, 1904 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Unprotected cruiser |
| Displacement | 3,587 t (3,530 long tons) |
| Length | 84 m (275 ft 7 in) lpp |
| Beam | 13.61 m (44 ft 8 in) |
| Draft | 6.13 m (20 ft 1 in) (avg) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion |
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| Sail plan | Full ship rig |
| Speed | 15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph) |
| Complement | 467 |
| Armament |
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The ship served with the main fleet in the Mediterranean Sea in 1886 before being assigned to patrol duty with the South Atlantic Squadron, serving as the unit's flagship. Aréthuse had been transferred to the North Atlantic Squadron by 1890, and was extensively modernized in 1891–1892. Another stint with the North Atlantic Squadron followed from 1893 to 1895, and in 1899, she was reduced to a hulk. Aréthuse was briefly used as the headquarters for the coastal defense unit based in Landévennec, but was broken up in 1901.