French battleship Iéna (1898)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Iéna in March 1907 |
|
| Career (France) |  |
|---|---|
| Namesake: | Battle of Jena-Auerstedt |
| Builder: | Brest shipyard |
| Laid down: | 3 April 1897 |
| Launched: | September 1898 |
| Commissioned: | 14 April 1902 |
| Decommissioned: | 3 July 1907 |
| Fate: | Exploded accidentally on 12 March 1907. Sunk as target ship on 2 December 1909. Sold for scrap in 1912. |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Single pre-dreadnought battleship |
| Displacement: | 12 750 tonnes |
| Length: | 122.15 m |
| Beam: | 20.80 m |
| Propulsion: | 3 steam engines with 20 boilers and 3 propellers. 16 500 HP |
| Speed: | 18.1 knots |
| Range: | 4 500 nm at 10 knots |
| Complement: | 630 |
| Armament: |
4 x 305mm/40 Modèle 1893 guns (twin mounts) |
| Armour: |
230 to 320 mm at the belt |
The Iéna was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the French Navy.
Her design was derived, and similar to that of the preceding Charlemagne class battleships.
In 1906, she was dispatched to provide assistance to Napoli after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
On 12 March 1907, an accidental explosion occurred aboard as Iéna was refitting. A first explosion started a fire which detonated the torpedo and gunnery magazines. The Suffren, moored beside the Iéna, almost capsized under the strength of the blast. 118 were killed. The origin of the explosion was traced to the nitrocellulose used in the ammunition, which tends to become instable with age and self-ignites. This triggered a major scandal, dubbed "affaire des poudres" ("gunpowder scandal"). A similar accident cause the loss of the Liberté in 1911.
In 1908, Iéna was used as a target ship. She was instrumental in the perfection of armour-piercing shells.
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[edit] Sources
- L’Illustration n°3342 (16 March 1907) and 3343 (23 March 1907)
- Le Petit Journal supplément illustré 31 March 1907, 21 April 1907
- E Gille, Cent ans de cuirassés français, Marines Editions, 1999, ISBN 2909675505
- CUIRASSE Iéna
