 Rigault de Genouilly
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Rigault de Genouilly |
| Laid down | 31 July 1873 |
| Launched | 19 September 1876 |
| Commissioned | 15 June 1878 |
| Out of service | 1899 |
| Stricken | 3 February 1899 |
| Fate | Purportedly sold, 14 June 1919 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Rigault de Genouilly-class unprotected cruiser |
| Displacement | 1,769 t (1,741 long tons; 1,950 short tons) |
| Length | 71.9 m (235 ft 11 in) lwl |
| Beam | 10.8 m (35 ft 5 in) |
| Draft | 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion |
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| Sail plan | Full ship rig |
| Speed | 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Range | 3,130 nmi (5,800 km; 3,600 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement | 195 |
| Armament |
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Rigault de Genouilly was the lead ship of the Rigault de Genouilly class of unprotected cruisers built for the French Navy in the 1870s. The ships were intended to fill multiple roles, including as scouts for the French fleet, and to patrol the French colonial empire; as such, they were given a high top speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) and were optimized to use their sailing rig for long voyages abroad. They were armed with a main battery of eight 138.6 mm (5.46 in) guns. Rigault de Genouilly was built between 1873 and 1878, but she was initially kept in reserve until 1882 for a cruise in the Antilles. Two years later, she was sent to strengthen French naval forces in Southeast Asia during the Tonkin Campaign, which led to the Sino-French War. She participated in blockades of Formosa and the Yangtze but saw no combat during the war. After returning to France, Rigault de Genouilly was modernized and then spent the 1890s operating in home waters, and later in the cruiser division that patrolled the Atlantic. She was renamed Amiral Rigault de Genouilly in 1895, and she was still operating in the Atlantic in 1898, when she observed the Spanish-American War in Cuba. The ship was decommissioned in early 1899 and struck from the naval register shortly thereafter. She remained in the navy's inventory until at least 1919, when she was sold according to navy records, though records noting her sale listing exist until 1922.