The rest of the British navy needs no detailed consideration. It
consisted at the outbreak of the war of 70 protected light cruisers,
134 destroyers, and a number of merchant ships convertible into
war vessels, together with submarines and other small ships.
The navy of France stood fourth in the list of those of the world
powers at the time the war started. There were eighteen old vessels,
built between 1894 and 1909, including the _Carnot_ class (corresponding
to the British ship _Magnificent_), the _Charlemagne, Bouvet, Suffren,
Republique_, and _Democratie_ classes. The most modern of these
types displaced no more than 14,000 tons, made no more than 18
knots, and carried primary batteries of 12-inch guns.
Some improvement was made in the six ships of the _Danton_ class
which were built in 1911 and 1912. They displaced 18,000 tons,
had armor from 9 to 12 inches thick and carried guns of 12-inch
caliber. They correspond to the British ship _Temeraire_. In 1913
and 1914 were launched the _Jean Bart, Courbet, Paris_, and _France_
of the dreadnought type, but much slower and not so heavily armed
as the British ships of the same class. In eight ships which were
incomplete when war was declared the matter of speed received greater
attention, and they are consequently faster than the older vessels of
the same type. It is in the nineteen French armored cruisers--France
has no battle cruisers--that the French showed better efforts as
builders of speedy ships, for they made 23 knots or more.
Pages:
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280