FR Bouvet
|
|||||||||||||||
|
Bouvet
was a French dreadnought who had a quiet career until the
outbreak of world war one. From August to November 1914
she escorted convoys transporting soldiers from North
Africa to France. In the beginning of 1915 she was ordered
to participate in the operation against the Dardanelles in
Turkey. 18.March 1915 she participated in a larger assault
against Ottoman fortresses in the Dardanelles. That same
afternoon she hit a mine and sank within two minutes.
Newly found historical pictures raise questions that
it might have been Ottoman artillery and not a mine that
was the cause, its still debated. The wreck rest today in
the narrows at Dardanelles on a depth of 48 to 60 meter
southwest of Güzelyali.
|
|||||||||||||||
| 40° 1′ 15″ N, 26° 16′ 30″ E  Picture: Bouvet Wikimedia Commons, Public domain  "In 18 March, Bouvet,
along with Charlemagne, Suffren,
and Gaulois, was to attack the Dardanelles
fortresses. The plan called for six British
pre-dreadnoughts to suppress the Turkish fortifications,
after which the French battleships would attack those
same fortifications at close range. The French fleet was
commanded by Admiral Émile Guépratte; the acting
Allied commander was Rear Admiral John de Robeck,
who stood in for Admiral Sackville Carden. The
Allied battleships were arranged in line abreast, in
three rows; Bouvet was stationed in the center
of the second row.The force entered the straits at 11:30
and bombarded the town of Çanakkale, before turning
to the Fortress Hamidieh and other nearby fortifications
at 13:30.For the first half-hour, the French and British
battleships shelled the forts indiscriminately, before
turning to attacking individual gun batteries. In the
course of the attack on the
fortresses, Bouvet sustained eight hits from
Turkish artillery fire. Her forward turret was disabled
after the propellant gas extractor broke down. One of
the shells destroyed one of her masts. At around
15:15, Bouvet struck a mine with a
176-pound (80 kg) explosive charge, which detonated
below the starboard 274 mm gun turret. These mines
had been freshly laid a week before the attack, and were
unknown to the Allies. Bouvet capsized and sank in
about two minutes"
Last updated: June 2019
|
|||||||||||||||