page_title: Léon Gambetta-class cruiser
section_title: Design and description
hierarchical_section_title: Léon Gambetta-class cruiser / Design and description
caption_attribution_description: Right elevation and deck plan diagrams depicting French Léon Gambetta class armoured cruisers. Top diagram shows right side view and armour thickness in inches. Bottom diagram shows deck plan and gun sizes in inches.
context_page_description: The Léon Gambetta class consisted of three armored cruisers built for the French Navy during the first decade of the 20th century. Armed with four 194-millimeter guns, the ships were much larger and more powerfully armed than their predecessors. Léon Gambetta, the first of the sister ships to be completed, was initially assigned to the Northern Squadron where she served as a flagship. Her sisters Jules Ferry and Victor Hugo were assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron where Jules Ferry also served as a flagship. Léon Gambetta joined them there in 1910 and the sisters remained there for most of their careers.
  During World War I, the cruisers escorted convoys as well as the capital ships of the French fleet. The ship participated in the blockade of the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the Adriatic Sea until 1917. Léon Gambetta was sunk by an Austro-Hungarian submarine in April 1915 with heavy loss of life. In mid-1917, Jules Ferry became a transport and Victor Hugo was reduced to reserve. She was joined by her sister in mid-1918.
  They were reactivated in 1921 to serve with the Atlantic Flying Division.
context_section_description: The Gambettas were designed as enlarged and more powerful versions of the Gloire-class armored cruisers. The first two ships (Léon Gambetta and Jules Ferry) measured 148.35 meters (486 ft 9 in) overall, with a beam of 21.4 meters (70 ft 3 in) and a draft of 8.18 meters (26 ft 10 in); the third and last ship (Victor Hugo) was slightly longer at 149.07 meters (489 ft 1 in). The sisters were designed to displace 12,550 metric tons (12,352 long tons) at normal load. Their crew normally numbered 26 officers and 708 enlisted men, or 30 officers and 749 men when serving as a flagship.
  The ships were powered by a trio of four-cylinder vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one propeller shaft. The outer shafts had 5.5-meter (18 ft 1 in) propellers while the centre propeller had a diameter of 5 meters (16 ft 5 in). The engines were rated at a total of 27,500 metric horsepower (20,200 kW), using steam provided by 20 (Jules Ferry) or 28 water-tube boilers. Each of the sisters had a different type of boiler; Léon Gambetta used Niclausse boilers, Jules Ferry had Guyot-du Temple boilers and Victor Hugo was fitted with Belleville boilers. The ships were designed for a speed of 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph) and exceeded that figure during their sea trials, reaching 22.3–23 knots (41.3–42.6 km/h; 25.7–26.5 mph) from 28,344–29,029 metric horsepower (20,847–21,351 kW). They carried a maximum of 2,100 long tons (2,100 t) of coal and could steam for 7,500 nautical miles (13,900 km; 8,600 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). Electrical power was supplied by four 1200-ampere dynamos.
caption: Right elevation and deck plan as depicted in Brassey's Naval Annual 1923
exif: {"Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image ExifOffset": "78", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0210", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated"}