French cruiser Infernet
Infernet was the second and final member of the D'Estrées class of protected cruisers built for the French Navy in the 1890s. The D'Estrées-class cruisers were ordered as part of a construction program directed at strengthening the fleet's cruiser force at a time the country was concerned with the growing naval threat of the Italian and German fleets. The new cruisers were intended to serve overseas in the French colonial empire. D'Estrées was armed with a main battery of two 138 mm (5.4 in) guns, was protected by an armor deck that was 38 to 43 mm (1.5 to 1.7 in) thick, and was capable of steaming at a top speed of up to 20 to 20.5 knots (37.0 to 38.0 km/h; 23.0 to 23.6 mph).
Infernet | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| France | |
| Name | Infernet |
| Namesake | Louis-Antoine-Cyprien Infernet |
| Builder | Forges et Chantiers de la Gironde |
| Laid down | December 1896 |
| Launched | 7 September 1899 |
| Completed | 1900 |
| Fate |
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| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Destrées-class cruiser |
| Displacement | 2,428 long tons (2,467 t) |
| Length | 95 m (311 ft 8 in) loa |
| Beam | 12 m (39 ft 4 in) |
| Draft | 5.39 m (17 ft 8 in) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion |
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| Speed | 20 to 20.5 knots (37.0 to 38.0 km/h; 23.0 to 23.6 mph) |
| Range | 6,000 nmi (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement | 235 |
| Armament |
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| Armor | Deck: 38 to 43 mm (1.5 to 1.7 in) |
Infernet had a relatively short career. She was completed in 1900, after which she was assigned to the Northern Squadron. In 1901, she was sent to French Madagascar, and two years later, she was transferred to the East Indies, where she remained through 1905. After returning to France, she ran aground off Les Sables-d'Olonne in 1910 and could not be pulled free.