Charles Martel-class ironclad

After the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871, the French Navy embarked on a construction program to strengthen the fleet in 1872 and to replace older vessels that had been built in the 1860s. By the early 1870s, the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) had begun its own expansion program under the direction of Benedetto Brin, which included the construction of several very large ironclad warships of the Duilio and Italia classes, armed with 450 mm (17.7 in) 100-ton guns. The French initially viewed the ships as not worthy of concern, but by 1877, public pressure over the new Italian vessels prompted the Navy's Conseil des Travaux (Board of Construction) to respond, beginning with the barbette ship Amiral Duperré and following with six vessels carrying 100-ton guns of French design. The first of these were the two Amiral Baudin-class ironclads, which carried their guns in open barbettes, all on the centerline, with one forward and two aft.^[1]

By the early 1880s, the very large guns had fallen out of favor in the French Navy, so the remaining four ships, to be laid down beginning in 1880, were redesigned with smaller but equally powerful weapons. These became the Marceau class, which was to have comprised four ships but ultimately included only three. The first vessel that was laid down, Hoche, had to be reworked after it was realized that the ship was too small for the intended displacement. The remaining three ships, which had not yet been laid down, could be enlarged to the necessary dimensions. All four ships arranged their main battery in a lozenge pattern with one forward, one aft, and a wing mount on either side amidships to maximize end-on fire (which was emphasized by those who favored ramming attacks).^[2]

At the same time, developments with quick-firing guns rendered the generation of French capital ships designed in the 1870s and early 1880s dangerously vulnerable to damage above the waterline. These ships used shallow waterline belt armor to protect their sides, but most of their hulls were unprotected by armor altogether. Many navies began to incorporate thin side protection above the belt to deal with the threat. Further complicating matters were the developments of self-propelled torpedoes and small, fast torpedo boats that posed an existential threat to the battleship-dominated fleets of the European navies.^[3]

The fleet program of 1880 projected a total of six new ironclad battleships; the first four were to be the three Marceaus and Hoche. The remaining pair of vessels was due to begin construction in 1882; they were submitted as part of the budget for that year in January 1881. The government ordered the two new ships on 25 November, to have been named Brennus and Charles Martel, but by March 1882, had decided to delay them until the 1883 fiscal year. Design work on the new class began on 10 March, when Bernard Jauréguiberry, the French Minister of Marine, requested proposals for the ships. The naval engineer Louis de Bussy submitted his plan on 6 May, which carried its main battery of four 340 mm (13.4 in) guns in a pair of gun turrets arranged en echelon amidships. It also dispensed with the complete waterline belt armor used in previous French designs and adopted the shorter but stronger armored citadel system; both aspects of the design were stark departures from French ships and more closely resembled the British ironclad HMS Inflexible. In addition, de Bussy chose a three-shaft arrangement for the propulsion system, as a single screw propeller was insufficient for large warships and previous vessels with two screws were found to steer badly.^[4][5]

The Conseil des travaux considered de Bussy's proposal from 27 to 30 May 1882, and the armor layout was quickly agreed upon, but the use of enclosed, armored gun turrets proved to be more controversial. De Bussy noted that open barbettes could be used instead, but cautioned against it, as he viewed these unprotected mountings to be far too vulnerable and he discounted the perceived benefit of improved visibility for the gun crews. The issue was ultimately settled by a tie-breaking vote from Jauréguiberry on 29 July in favor of the armored turrets. Soon thereafter, Jauréguiberry decided to begin construction of the ships, which he formally ordered on 8 August. Over the following months, de Bussy prepared a series of more detailed plans, beginning with the hull lines on 6 September, followed by other details in November and December.^[6]

The decision to revise the Charles Martel design originated with the decision to add a third vessel for the 1883 budget and a fourth for the 1884 year. A new naval minister, Charles Brun, disagreed with the turret ship concept and on 29 June 1883 he requested advice from the Conseil des travaux whether this fourth vessel should repeat de Bussy's design or be altered in some way. By that time, opinions in the board had shifted, and they recommended a complete waterline belt, in keeping with previous French practice. The ship was ultimately canceled due to budgetary limitations, and no effort was made to alter the Charles Martel class at that time. But already by September, Brun had been replaced by Vice Admiral Alexandre Peyron, who on the 18th suspended the contracts for all three ships and solicited input from the Conseil on whether to complete them as originally designed or to revise them to follow the Marceau pattern.^[7]

The Conseill responded on 23 October with a recommendation to adopt an improved Marceau design, which would be lengthened to improve hydrodynamic efficiency and a straight bow, rather than the sloped ram bow that was to cause problems for the Marceaus once they entered service. Like the earlier vessels, this new version mounted its four 340 mm guns in individual barbettes in a lozenge pattern. Four days later, Peyron asked Charles Ernest Huin, who had designed the Marceaus and Hoche, to refine the concept for the new ships. Huin completed the initial draft on 17 November, but further alterations were suggested and his revised plan was submitted on 22 January 1884. Yet more improvements were requested, including moving the wing barbettes to improve their fields of fire (and reduce their blast effects on the forward and rear guns). Huin's finalalized design was completed by 31 July.^[4][8]

The exact timeline for the design and construction of the ships have been unclear due to the numerous stopping and restarting of work as the designs were altered, replaced, and modified again. Various sources have reported differing dates over the years. According to the naval historian Theodore Ropp, the decision to cancel the vessels had been made in late 1884, during the tenure of Admiral Alexandre Peyron; while he was not a partisan of the Jeune École, he was also not convinced that further battleship construction was warranted during a period of technological uncertainty. He remained committed to completing the Marceau class and Hoche, as they were already well advanced in construction, but was unwilling to authorize construction of any new vessels.^[14] The historian Stephen Roberts provides a different justification for Peyron's actions, noting that he simply did not agree with de Bussy's design, and preferred one based on Huin's Marceau class. Furthermore, the project was not canceled altogether, simply deferred long enough for Huin to prepare an acceptable alternative.^[8]

Roberts states that the finalized design was submitted on 4 March 1884 and approved by Peyron eight days later.^[8]. But according to the historians John Jordan and Philip Caresse, Huin's design was not approved until January 1885 and work on the two ships, Charles Martel and Brennus, began that year in Toulon and Lorient, respectively.^[4] Robert, however, states that work had begun with the keel laying for Brennus on 2 January 1885. Confusingly, Thomas Brassey, writing in the contemporary The Naval Annual, noted that the ships had been ordered in 1882 and that at least some work on the keel for Brennus had already been completed by October 1884, though Charles Martel had not yet been laid down.^[15] Regardless of the specific timeline, there is agreement that it was Admiral Théophile Aube, who became the Minister of Marine in January 1886, and who immediately suspended work on the new ships upon becoming the naval minister. Aube was a proponent of the Jeune École (Young School), which held that cheap torpedo boats could effectively replace the capital ships that had been the primary component of naval power. By the time Aube cancelled the ships, some work had been completed assembling the lower hull of Brennus, but very little work had started on Charles Martel.^[4][12]

In 1887, Aube left the ministry and his replacement, Édouard Barbey, disagreed with his predecessor over the future composition of the French fleet. Huin suggested reworking the design for Brennus, which Barbey accepted, resulting in France's first pre-dreadnought battleship, Brennus. There is some confusion as to the ship's fate. Jordan and Caresse seem to indicate that the two vessels were one and the same, stating that "work on the partially built Brennus resumed in 1889."^[16] But in another publication, Caresse provides a new keel-laying date for Brennus on 2 January 1889,^[17] and Brassey indicates the two were different vessels.^[a] Speaking of Charles Martel, the historian Luc Feron states more plainly, instructing readers to "[not] confuse this one with the 12,000-ton battleship of the 1890 program which was actually built."^[19] Nevertheless, some of the material that had been accumulated for Brennus was later reused in the battleship that was actually completed. Charles Martel was scrapped in Toulon and some of her components were reused in the later battleships Carnot and Bouvet, among other projects. Her name was reused in the later battleship Charles Martel, also designed by Huin.^[12][20]