French cruiser Coëtlogon
Coëtlogon was a protected cruiser of the Forbin class built in the late 1880s and early 1890s for the French Navy; she was the last member of her class to be built. The Forbin-class cruisers were built as part of a construction program intended to provide scouts for the main battle fleet. They were based on the earlier unprotected cruiser Milan, with the addition of an armor deck to improve their usefulness in battle. They had a high top speed for the time, at around 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph), and they carried a main battery of four 138 mm (5.4 in) guns.
Coëtlogon at anchor | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| France | |
| Name | Coëtlogon |
| Ordered | 23 May 1887 |
| Builder | Ateliers et Chantiers de Saint-Nazaire Penhoët |
| Laid down | 27 May 1887 |
| Launched | 3 December 1888 |
| Completed | 20 September 1894 |
| Commissioned | 20 March 1890 |
| Decommissioned | 1 June 1905 |
| In service | 20 September 1894 |
| Out of service | 20 August 1896 |
| Stricken | 26 August 1905 |
| Fate | Broken up, 1906 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Forbin-class protected cruiser |
| Displacement | 1,857 t (1,828 long tons; 2,047 short tons) |
| Length | 95 m (311 ft 8 in) lwl |
| Beam | 9.33 m (30 ft 7 in) |
| Draft | 4.5 m (14 ft 9 in) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion |
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| Speed | 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) |
| Complement | 209 |
| Armament |
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| Armor | Deck: 40 mm (1.6 in) |
Coëtlogon saw little activity, in part because problems with her propulsion system delayed her completion by three years; after a serious breakdown while on sea trials in 1891, the entire system had to be replaced. Even then, her propulsion system proved to be problematic, including excessive vibration. She was finally completed in 1894 and was assigned to the Northern Squadron, though she only served in the unit for two years. She saw no further active service, and she was struck from the naval register in 1905, briefly used as a munitions storage hulk, before being broken up in 1906.