French cruiser Lapérouse
Lapérouse was an unprotected cruiser, the lead ship of her class, built for the French Navy in the 1870s. The ship was intended to serve abroad in the French colonial empire, and was ordered to strengthen the fleet after the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. To allow the ship to cruise for long distances, she was fitted with a full ship rig to supplement her steam engine, and she carried a main battery of fifteen 138.6 mm (5.46 in) guns. Her top speed under steam was 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).
Lapérouse in port, date unknown | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| France | |
| Name | Lapérouse |
| Namesake | Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse |
| Builder | Arsenal de Brest |
| Laid down | 23 June 1875 |
| Launched | 5 November 1877 |
| Commissioned | 6 October 1879 |
| Fate | Wrecked, 31 July 1898 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Lapérouse-class cruiser |
| Displacement | 2,320 t (2,280 long tons) |
| Length | 79.5 m (260 ft 10 in) lwl |
| Beam | 11.4 m (37 ft 5 in) |
| Draft | 5.3 m (17 ft 5 in) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion |
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| Sail plan | Full ship rig |
| Speed | 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Range | 4,980 nmi (9,220 km; 5,730 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement | 264 |
| Armament |
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Lapérouse was sent to East Asia in late 1884, arriving there in January 1885 during the Sino-French War. She participated in the blockade of Formosa and operations off the Yangtze river on mainland China. She remained in the Far East Squadron after the war ended later that year, but in 1886 she was moved to the Indian Ocean. In the early 1890s, she took part in training exercises with the main fleet in French waters. She was sent abroad again in 1896, returning to the Indian Ocean division, where she served as the division flagship. While in Madagascar in 1898, Lapérouse was driven ashore by a storm after her anchor chains were severed by a submerged wreck. Deemed a total loss, she was sold for scrap in 1901.