Tidings from Saigon reported that 43 colliers mostly Russian and German were anchored off N’Habe while strictly guarded by the French gunboat Caronade.(1) Twenty similar ships were lying off Cape St. Jacques guarded by the d’Asses. Just one ship was anchored in the merchant port of Saigon.
Notes
1. The Caronade of the Arbalète-class of iron gunboats? This class had a displacement of 100 tons and as dimensions 24,92 x 4,75 x 1,37 metres or 81’9” x15’7” x 4’6” (mean). The horsepower of 50 ihp allowed a speed of 5-5,5 knots with a coal bunker capacity of 65 tons. The crew numbered 27 men while the armament consisted of 1-6’4” gun or 1-5.5” gun. In the French navy served in 1905 a so-called chaloupe canonnière with this name laid down in 1883 at Nantes
2. The protected cruiser D’Assas of the D’Assas-class laid down at the yard of the Soc. De la Loire in 1894, launched in March two years later, completed in March 1898 and stricken in 1914. With a displacement of 3,962 tons and as dimensions 96,14 (between perpendiculars) x 13,67 x 6,25 (maximum) metres or 315’5”x 44’10”x 20’6”. With a crew of 379-302 men and an armament of 6-’6’4” quick firing guns, 4-3.9” guns, 10-3pdr guns, 5/9-1pdr guns and 2-18” torpedo tubes. The vertical triple expansion engines and 20 boilers supplied 10,000 ihp allowing a speed of 20 knots with a coal bunker capacity of maximum 600 tons.
