View source for Villars-class cruiser

{{Short description|French class of warships of the 1880s}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin <!-- warship classes -->
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{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=File:NH 74997 French cruiser Roland.jpg
|Ship image size=300px
|Ship caption=''Roland''
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Builders=
|Operators={{navy|FRA}}
|Class before={{sclass|Lapérouse|cruiser|4}}
|Class after={{ship|French cruiser|Iphigénie||2}}
|Built range=
|In commission range=
|Total ships completed=4
|Total ships scrapped=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=
|Ship displacement={{cvt|2419|t|LT|lk=on}}
|Ship length={{cvt|74.27|m|ftin}} [[long at the waterline|lwl]]
|Ship beam={{cvt|11.6|m|ftin}}
|Ship draft={{cvt|5.31|m|ftin}}
|Ship propulsion=
*1 × [[compound steam engine]]
*1 × [[screw propeller]]
|Ship power=
*6 × [[fire-tube boiler]]s
*{{cvt|2700|ihp|lk=on}}
|Ship sail plan=[[Full ship rig]]
|Ship speed={{convert|14.6|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range={{cvt|4800|to|4810|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|10|kn}}
|Ship complement=269
|Ship armament=
*15 × {{cvt|138.6|mm}} guns
*2 × {{cvt|37|mm}} [[Hotchkiss gun|Hotchkiss revolver cannon]]
|Ship armor=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

The '''''Villars'' class''' of [[unprotected cruiser]]s was a group of four ships built for the [[French Navy]] in the mid-1870s and early 1880s. The class comprised {{ship|French cruiser|Villars||2}}, {{ship|French cruiser|Forfait||2}}, {{ship|French cruiser|Magon||2}}, and {{ship|French cruiser|Roland||2}}. They were designed as part of a naval construction program aimed at modernizing the French fleet in the aftermath of the [[Franco-Prussian War]], and were intended to serve overseas in the [[French colonial empire]]. As such, they were fitted with a [[full-ship rig]] to allow them to cruise for extended periods of time without burning coal for their steam engine, and they carried a relatively heavy armament of fifteen {{cvt|138.6|mm}} guns. 

''Villars'' and ''Forfait'' were both involved in attempts to expand the French empire in the mid-1880s, in [[Southeast Asia]] and [[Madagascar]], respectively. ''Villars'' saw action during the [[Sino-French War]] that resulted from France's actions in Asia; she took part in the [[Keelung campaign]], the [[Battle of Fuzhou]], and the [[blockade]] of [[Formosa]] during the war. ''Forfait'' participated in the [[First Madagascar expedition]] that failed to seize control of the island. ''Roland'' and ''Magon'' were both sent to reinforce French forces during the Sino-French War, but the conflict had ended by the time they arrived. The ships served for another decade, frequently with the North Atlantic Squadron, and by the late 1890s, all four had been removed from active service. ''Villars'', ''Roland'', and ''Magon'' were quickly [[scrap|scrapped]]. Only ''Forfait'' survived into the 1900s, being used as a storage [[hulk (ship)|hulk]] until she was [[ship breaking|broken up]] in 1920.

==Design==
[[File:NH 74814 French cruiser Forfait.jpg|thumb|left|''Forfait'' in port, date unknown]]

In the aftermath of the French defeat in the [[Franco-Prussian War]] of 1870–1871, the [[French Navy]] was forced to drastically reduce naval spending and consolidate its forces. The Navy adopted a new construction plan in 1872, which envisioned a fleet for operations in home waters and one to patrol overseas to protect French interests abroad. The squadrons that were to support the [[French colonial empire]] were to consist of a small number of second class [[ironclad warship]]s supported by a large number of wooden cruising vessels.{{sfn|Ropp|pp=32–40}} To provide new cruisers under the program, the [[List of naval ministers of France|French Minister of the Navy]], [[Louis Raymond de Montaignac de Chauvance]], forwarded a pair of designs to the {{lang|fr|[[Conseil des travaux|Conseil des Travaux]]}} (Council of Works) on 8 March 1875. The minister had requested designs that strengthened the armament compared to earlier cruisers while keeping [[displacement (ship)|displacement]] similar, at the cost of speed.{{sfn|Roberts|p=108}}

The two proposals, which the council reviewed on 28 May, were prepared by [[Victorin Sabattier]] and [[Arthur Bienaymé]]. They were similar vessels, armed with fifteen {{cvt|138.6|mm}} guns, all on the upper deck, [[forecastle]], and sterncastle. The council requested that six of these guns be replaced with {{cvt|164.7|mm}} guns. They also suggested adding a short section of armor [[amidships]] around the [[funnel (ship)|funnel]] uptakes, reflecting the experience at the [[Battle of Havana (1870)|Battle of Havana]], where the French [[aviso]] {{ship|French aviso|Bouvet|1865|2}} was disabled by gunfire that damaged her funnel. Sabattier's design was chosen, but neither of the council's recommendations were adopted. One alteration was made, however, which was to move the forecastle guns a deck lower, firing through [[embrasure]]s.{{sfn|Roberts|p=108}}

===Characteristics===
[[File:Plan and profile sketch of the Villars class.jpg|thumb|left|Plan and profile view of the {{sclass|Villars|cruiser|4}}]]

''Villars'', ''Magon'', and ''Roland'' were {{cvt|74.27|m|ftin}} [[long at the waterline]] and {{cvt|76.27|m|ftin}} [[long between perpendiculars]], with a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{cvt|11.6|m|ftin}} and an average [[draft (hull)|draft]] of {{cvt|5.31|m|ftin}}. They displaced {{cvt|2419|t|LT}}. ''Forfait'' differed slightly from her sisters, being {{cvt|74.18|m|ftin}} at the waterline and {{cvt|76.16|m|ftin}} between perpendiculars. Her beam was {{cvt|11.62|m|ftin}} and her draft was {{cvt|5.13|m|ftin}} on {{cvt|2321|t|LT}} displacement.{{sfn|Roberts|p=108}} Their hulls were constructed with wood, with iron cross beams to support the structure. They had an [[inverted bow]] with a [[naval ram|ram]] and an overhanging [[stern]]. They had a short forecastle, and their [[superstructure]] consisted of a small [[conning tower]] placed just forward of amidships. The ship had no armor protection,{{sfn|Campbell|p=319}} but the ships did have a partial [[double bottom]].{{sfn|Marshall|p=135}} Their standard crew consisted of 269&nbsp;officers and enlisted men, with the exception of ''Forfait'', the crew of which numbered 264.{{sfn|Roberts|p=108}}

All four ships were propelled by a single horizontal, 3-cylinder [[compound steam engine]] that drove a [[screw propeller]]. Steam was provided by six coal-burning [[fire-tube boiler]]s that were ducted into a single funnel located amidships. The power plant was rated to produce {{convert|2700|ihp|lk=on}} using [[forced draft]], but during her initial speed testing, ''Villars'' reached {{cvt|2943|ihp}} for a top speed of {{convert|14.6|kn|lk=in}}. ''Forfait''{{'}}s propulsion system was rated for {{cvt|2160|ihp}} at normal draft but reached {{cvt|2960|ihp}} for a speed of {{convert|14.7|kn}}. The ships carried {{cvt|330|to|334|t|LT}} of coal, and at a cruising speed of {{convert|10|kn}}, they could steam for {{convert|4800|to|4810|nmi|lk=in}}. To supplement their steam engines, they were fitted with a three-[[mast (sailing)|masted]] [[full ship rig]].{{sfn|Roberts|p=108}}{{sfn|Campbell|p=319}}

The ships were armed with a [[main battery]] of fifteen {{cvt|138.6|mm}} M1870M 21.3-caliber guns. Two were placed in the forecastle as [[chase gun]]s, one was atop the stern, and the remainder were placed in an amidships battery on the upper deck, six guns per [[broadside (naval)|broadside]]. Of the broadside guns, the forward three on each side were placed in [[sponson]]s, while the remaining three guns were in pivot mounts firing through embrasures. A pair of {{cvt|37|mm}} [[Hotchkiss gun|Hotchkiss revolver cannon]] provided close-range defense against [[torpedo boat]]s. They also carried a pair of {{cvt|86.5|mm}} bronze [[mountain gun]]s or a single {{cvt|65|mm}} [[field gun]] that could be sent ashore with a [[landing party]].{{sfn|Roberts|p=108}}

==Ships==
[[File:NH 66074 French cruiser Forfait.jpg|thumb|''Forfait'' anchored offshore]]

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Construction data
|-
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" | Laid down{{sfn|Roberts|pp=108–109}}
! scope="col" | Launched{{sfn|Roberts|pp=108–109}}
! scope="col" | Completed{{sfn|Roberts|pp=108–109}}
! scope="col" | Shipyard{{sfn|Roberts|pp=108–109}}
|-
! scope="row" | {{ship|French cruiser|Villars||2}}
| 9 July 1875
| 21 August 1879
| July 1881
| {{lang|fr|[[Arsenal de Cherbourg]]}}, [[Cherbourg]]
|-
! scope="row" | {{ship|French cruiser|Forfait||2}}
| 2 November 1876
| 6 February 1879
| April 1880
| {{lang|fr|[[Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée]]}}, [[La Seyne-sur-Mer]]
|-
! scope="row" | {{ship|French cruiser|Magon||2}}
| 18 April 1876
| 9 August 1880
| September 1882
| {{lang|fr|Arsenal de Cherbourg}}, Cherbourg
|-
! scope="row" | {{ship|French cruiser|Roland||2}}
| 2 July 1877
| 14 October 1882
| August 1884
| {{lang|fr|Arsenal de Cherbourg}}, Cherbourg
|-
! scope="row" | N
|—
|—
|—
|—
|}

==Service history==
[[File:NH 74809 French cruiser Magon.jpg|thumb|''Magon'' in port]]

''Villars'' was sent to [[East Asia]] in 1882 as French forces continued their encroachment into Vietnam; further French reinforcements were sent after the [[Tonkin campaign]] began in 1883. France's attempts to subjugate northern Vietnam brought the French into conflict with China, which viewed the Vietnamese as being within the Chinese [[sphere of influence]]. In July, ''Villars'' was sent to [[blockade]] the port of [[Keelung]] on the island of [[Formosa]], which led to the [[Keelung campaign]], the first major battle of the [[Sino-French War]]. During the battle, ''Villars'' bombarded Chinese positions and sent a landing party ashore. With the start of a larger war, France activated ''Roland'' and ''Magon'' to further strengthen French naval forces. In the meantime, ''Villars'' next moved to [[Fuzhou]] on mainland China with much of the rest of the French fleet, where they attacked the Chinese [[Fujian Fleet]] at the [[Battle of Fuzhou]]. ''Villars'' helped to sink three Chinese cruisers, and then during the lengthy operation to fight their way down the [[Min River (Fujian)|Min River]], she assisted with the destruction of numerous Chinese coastal artillery batteries. She then took part in a [[blockade]] of Formosa that lasted until April 1885, when the war ended. ''Roland'', ''Magon'', and the other reinforcements that had been dispatched in early 1885 arrived too late to see action during the conflict.{{sfn|Roberts|pp=108–109}}{{sfn|Olender|pp=10–16, 38–60}}

At the same time that ''Villars'' was fighting in East Asia, ''Forfait'' was engaged in another attempt to enlarge the [[French colonial empire]]. Having been sent to the Indian Ocean in 1881, ''Forfait'' joined several other cruisers to launch the [[First Madagascar expedition]], an effort to conquer the island of [[Madagascar]] off the eastern coast of Africa. The operations began with an attack on the port of [[Tamatave]] in May 1883, where ''Forfait'' bombarded the town and contributed men to a landing party that seized the area. ''Forfait'' later helped to defend the city of [[Mahajanga]], where the pro-French [[Sakalava people|Sakalava]] were fighting government forces. Fighting on the island continued until a peace treaty was signed in December 1885, and the French failed to secure control of the island for the time being.{{sfn|Roberts|p=109}}{{sfn|Oliver|pp=1071–1077}}

The rest of the ships' careers passed relatively uneventfully. ''Magon'' was sent to the Pacific Ocean after arriving in Chinese waters, while ''Roland'' remained in the area.{{sfn|Loir|pp=351–352}} ''Villars'' and ''Forfait'' returned to France in 1887 and 1886, respectively,{{sfn|Roberts|p=109}} and they took part in training exercises with the French fleet in the early 1890s.{{sfn|Beehler|pp=152–162}}{{sfn|Rodgers|pp=252–258}}{{sfn|Thursfield|p=62}} ''Forfait'' made a deployment to what had by then become [[French Indochina]] from 1892 to 1896.{{sfn|Roberts|p=109}} ''Roland'' and ''Magon'' served in the North Atlantic Squadron in turns through the mid-1890s.{{sfn|Brassey 1890|p=67}}{{sfn|Brassey 1896|p=66}} By the late-1890s, all four ships were removed from active service. ''Villars'' and ''Magon'' were sold for [[scrap]] in 1896 and ''Forfait'' was converted into a storage [[hulk (ship)|hulk]] the following year. The last to leave active service, ''Roland'' was sold to [[ship breaker]]s in 1898, though ''Forfait'' remained in the navy's inventory as a storage hulk until 1920, when she was finally sold for scrap.{{sfn|Roberts|p=109}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|20em}}

==References==
{{commonscat|Villars class cruiser}}

* {{cite journal
  |last=Beehler
  |first=W. H.
  |title=Naval Manoeuvres, 1887
  |pages=122–178
  |journal=Naval Reserves, Training, and Matériel
  |series=Information From Abroad
  |publisher=Government Printing Office
  |location=Washington, DC
  |date=June 1888
  |ref={{sfnref|Beehler}}
  }}
* {{cite journal
  |editor-last=Brassey
  |editor-first=Thomas
  |title=Chapter V: The Foreign Stations
  |journal=The Naval Annual
  |year=1890
  |location=Portsmouth
  |publisher=J. Griffin & Co.
  |pages=64–68
  |oclc=496786828
  |ref={{sfnRef|Brassey 1890}}
  |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zfs_AAAAYAAJ
  }}
* {{cite journal
  |last=Brassey
  |first=Thomas A.
  |title=Chapter III: Relative Strength
  |journal=The Naval Annual
  |year=1896
  |location=Portsmouth
  |publisher=J. Griffin & Co.
  |pages=61–71
  |oclc=496786828
  |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0o9IAQAAMAAJ
  |ref={{sfnRef|Brassey 1896}}
  }}
* {{cite book
  | last = Campbell
  | first = N. J. M.
  | chapter = France
  | pages = 283–333
  | editor1-last = Gardiner
  | editor1-first = Robert
  | year = 1979
  | title = Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905
  | publisher = Conway Maritime Press
  | location = London
  | isbn = 978-0-85177-133-5
  | ref = {{sfnRef|Campbell}}
  | url-access = registration
  | url = https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_l2e2
  }}
* {{cite book
  |last=Loir 
  |first=M.
  |title=L'escadre de l'amiral Courbet, notes et souvenirs
  |trans-title=The Squadron of Admiral Courbet, Notes and Memories
  |language=French
  |location=Paris
  |publisher=Berger-Levrault
  |date=1886
  |oclc=457536196
  |ref={{sfnRef|Loir}}
  }}
* {{cite book 
  |editor-last=Marshall
  |editor-first=Chris
  |title=The Encyclopedia of Ships: The History and Specifications of Over 1200 Ships
  |year=1995
  |publisher=Blitz Editions
  |location=Enderby
  |isbn=978-1-85605-288-7
  |ref={{sfnref|Marshall}}
  }}
* {{cite book
  |last=Olender
  |first=Piotr
  |title=Sino-French Naval War 1884–1885
  |year=2012
  |location=Sandomir
  |publisher=Stratus
  |isbn=978-83-61421-53-5
  |ref={{sfnref|Olender}}
  }}
* {{cite journal
  |last=Oliver
  |first=S. Pasfield
  |editor-last=Jones
  |editor-first=W. Gore
  |title=French Operations in Madagascar, 1883–1885
  |pages=1071–1132
  |journal=Journal of the Royal United Services Institution
  |volume=XXX
  |number=136
  |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q8tMAAAAYAAJ
  |date=June 1886
  |location=London
  |publisher=Harrison & Sons
  |ref={{sfnref|Oliver}}
  }}
* {{cite book
  |last=Roberts
  |first=Stephen
  |title=French Warships in the Age of Steam 1859–1914
  |year=2021
  |location=Barnsley
  |publisher=Seaforth
  |isbn=978-1-5267-4533-0
  |ref={{sfnref|Roberts}}
  }}
* {{cite journal
  |last=Rodgers
  |first=Charles G.
  |title=The Naval Manoeuvres of 1890
  |pages=225–278
  |journal=The Year's Naval Progress
  |series=Information From Abroad
  |year=1891
  |location=Washington, DC
  |publisher=Government Printing Office
  |ref={{sfnref|Rodgers}}
  }}
* {{cite book
  | last = Ropp|authorlink=Theodore Ropp
  | first = Theodore
  | title = The Development of a Modern Navy: French Naval Policy, 1871–1904
  | editor-last = Roberts
  | editor-first = Stephen S.
  | year = 1987
  | location = Annapolis
  | publisher = Naval Institute Press
  | isbn = 978-0-87021-141-6
  |ref={{sfnRef|Ropp}}
  }}
* {{cite journal
  |last=Thursfield
  |first=J. R.
  |editor-last=Brassey
  |editor-first=Thomas A.
  |title=Foreign Naval Manoeuvres
  |journal=The Naval Annual
  |location=Portsmouth
  |publisher=J. Griffin & Co.
  |year=1892
  |pages=61–88
  |oclc=496786828
  |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CxYuAAAAYAAJ
  |ref={{sfnRef|Thursfield}}
  }}

{{Villars-class cruiser}}

[[Category:Villars-class cruisers]]
[[Category:Cruiser classes]]
[[Category:Ships built in France]]
[[Category:Ship classes of the French Navy]]