French ship Eure (1886)

	Vaucluse, sister-ship of Eure
History
France
Name	Eure
Namesake	Eure river
Laid down	11 March 1884[1]
Launched	5 April 1886[1]
Out of service	8 August 1901[1]
General characteristics [1]
Class and type	Meurthe-class aviso
Tons burthen	1600 tonnes
Length	64 metres
Beam	10.5 metres
Draught	4.9 metres
Propulsion	650 shp steam engine
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Speed	12 knots
Complement	107 men
Armament	6 × 140 mm guns; 2 × 90 mm guns; 4 × 37 mm Hotchkiss guns;

Eure was a Meurthe-class aviso of the French Navy. She was launched in 1886. She is notable as having claimed territories of the Southern Indian Ocean for France, including the Kerguelen Islands in 1893. She continued to serve in the Pacific until 1901.

Career

Construction of Eure began in 1886 at the Ateliers et chantiers du Havre. She was part of a 1885 order comprising six other avisos of the same class (Meurthe, Drôme, Aube, Durance, Rance and Manche), designed as mixed sail and steam ships. Eure was launched on 5 April 1886, and commissioned on 14 August 1890 at Rochefort, where she was based.

President Sadi Carnot sent Eure on a mission to claim the French Southern and Antarctic Lands for France. On 1 January 1893, Eure entered Baie de l'Oiseau, North of Kerguelen Islands. Commander Lieutard, the commanding officer, held a ceremony at Port-Christmas the next day, where a copper plaque inscribed « EURE - 1893 » was set. He repeated this in various locations of the archipelago in the following 15 days. Eure continued her claims at île Saint-Paul on 22 January 1893, and at île Amsterdam on 24 January, before returning to Réunion and Madagascar.

Port-Christmas on 2 January 1893
Port-Gazelle on 8 January 1893

In 1897, under Alphonse Lecuve, Eure toured New Guinea and Brisbane, finally arriving at Nouméa in New Caledonia. From then on, she was attached to the French Pacific Fleet.

Eure was decommissioned on 8 March 1901.

Commanding officers

1891-1897 : Commander Lieutard
1897-1898 : Commander Lecuve
August to October 1899 (interim): Captain Docteur
1899-1901 : Commander Vallée

Citations

Roche (2005), p. 201.

References

Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. Vol. 2. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922. (1870-2006)

External links

Forces maritimes 1718-1920, Service historique de la Défense, p. 65

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[FOOTNOTERoche2005201-1] Roche (2005), p. 201.