French seaplane carrier Foudre
Foudre, first seaplane carrier in history, with hangar and cranes. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| France | |
| Name | Foudre |
| Namesake | Lightning |
| Builder |
|
| Laid down | 9 June 1892 |
| Launched | 20 Oct 1895 |
| Completed | 1896 (as a torpedo boat depot ship) |
| Decommissioned | 1 Dec 1921 |
| Fate | Scrapped |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Torpedo boat tender / Seaplane carrier |
| Tonnage | 6,100 tonnes (6,004 long tons) |
| Length | 118.8 m (389 ft 9 in) |
| Beam | 15.5 m (50 ft 10 in) |
| Draught | 7 m (23 ft 0 in) |
| Installed power | 12,000 shp (8,948 kW) |
| Propulsion | Triple expansion engines, 24 boilers, 2 shafts |
| Speed | 19 knots (35 km/h) |
| Boats & landing craft carried | 8 torpedo boats |
| Complement | 430 |
| Armament |
|
| Armour | Deck : 120 mm (4.7 in) |
| Aircraft carried | 4 seaplanes after conversion |
The Foudre was a French seaplane carrier, the first in history. Her development followed the invention of the seaplane in 1910 with the French Le Canard.