The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1911-10-06
NAVAL DISASTERS
have Been MANY
France Has Had a Great Many
In LdIe Years.
LATEST WAS THE WORST OF ALL
Loss of Life on the Liberte Almost
Without reoedent-TerribIe Acct
dents to Ships Of Nations Other Than
France,

dents to Ships of Nations Other Than
France.
The destruction of the buttleship
Liberte, with the loss of more than
300 lives, was the greatest disaster
that ever befell the French navy in
time Of peace and in magnitude is al
most without precedent in the annals
of the worlds fighting ships. The
loss of more than $50 lives on the
American battleship Maine Feb. 10,
1898, stands second in the mortality
list.
The Liberte was one of the newest
and most powerful battleships in the
French navy and, with the exception
of the Verite, was the most recent of
her type in the French service. Four
vessels, each of about $4,000 tons dis
placement, of what Is known as the
Democratic type, have been built in
France in the last four years, the four
vessels being the Democratic, Justice
and Liberte, which were completed In
1907, and the Verite, completed in
1908. Each ship cost to build and
equip approximately $7,125,000. Each
was manned by crew of 742 officers
and men.
The Liberte was vessel of the same
size as the American battleships of the
Virginia class. the vessels of the Vir-
ginia class displacing 14,94S tons, while
the displacement of the Liberte was
14,900 tons
No navy in the world has had so
many serious accidents within recent
years as that of France. In this long
list the explosion on board the battle
ship lena, which, like the Liberte, was
at the Toulon navy yard. was, with
the exception of that on the Liberte,
the worst in the history of the French
navy.
The lena Explosion.
The lena explosion occurred on
March II, 1907, the ship at that time
being the flagship of Rear Admiral
Manceron. The vessel was a total
loss, and more than 100 men were
killed.
An investigation of the lena explo-
sion resulted in an official report that
it was due to spontaneous combustion
of "B" powder in magazine where
the temperature was too high on ac-
count of the proximity of the dynamo
compartment
In September, 1908, another fearful
accident occurred on the armored cruis-
er Latouche Treville. twelve men be-
ing killed by an explosion in one Of
the 7.6 inch turrets. This disaster oc-
CURED in the French target waters off
the Hyeres islands. 1t is believed to
have been due to the premature explo-
sion of Il gun charge. The cause of
the explosion on the lena has never
been established.
Near the place where the Liberte was
blown up the battleship Hoche was
sunk in July, 1907. A fire started in
the sail room of the Hoche, and, though
the crew worked hard to save the ship,
the flames got so close to the maya.
zines that it was decided to sink the
vessel, and this was done.
Some French Losses.
There have been many other serious
accidents in the French navy within
the last few years. There was an
explosion on torpedo boat No. $3.50 ON
Feb, g. 1907, when nine men were
killed, and the cruiser Jean Bart went
ashore on the African coast on Feb. |
II. 1907. The vessel proved a total
loss, but no lives were lost.
In May of the same year the cruiser |
Chanzy went ashore in Chinese wa
ters and was lost. but the crew was
saved.
An explosion occurred ON the battle
ship Justice in the course of the trial |
trips of that ship in July. 1907. and |
another on the Democratic in the same |
year. Both of these are sister ships |
of the Liberte, so that of the four sis |
ter ships of which the Liberte was
one only the Verite has a clean slate |
so far as accidents are concerned. An
explosion on the schoolship Couronne |
at Toulon on Aug 13. 1908, cost six |
lives.
Another terrible accident in the |
French navy was the loss off the coast |
of Tunis of the submarine Lutin in
October, 1906. The Lutin was after.
ward recovered, but not before all of
the crew of thirteen officers and men
had perished. On May 27, 1910, the
submarine Pluviose remained sub,
merged after diving in the harbor of
Calais. Twenty-seven men were
drowned On Sept. 20. 1911, a gun
exploded aboard the cruiser Gloire at
Toulon. One man was killed and thir,
teen were injured, five mortally.
The most serious disaster in recent
years TO ship belonging to a nation
other than France was the loss of the
japanese battleship Mikasa on Sept.
IL, 1905, when between 200 and 300
men We're killed by magazine explO-
sion that practically destroyed the
ship.
Another terrible accident in the Jap
anese service was an explosion on the
battleship Kashima on Sept. 8. 1907.
1t followed an attempt to remove an
unexploded shell from a ten inch gun.
On that occasion fwantu-eavan man