An item reported that on board of the French artillery training ship Pothua gun exercises were executed. The 14cm guns could be directed fired 11 times in a minute. The 19cm guns however fired just 2,5 times due to the limited space within the gun turrets.(1)
Note
1. Armoured cruiser. Laid down at the shipyard F.C. de la Méditerranée in January 1893, launched in September 1895. Completed in January 1897 and finally stricken in 1929. With a displacement of 5.374 tons were her dimensions 110,00 (between perpendiculars) x 15,30 x 6,48 metres or 360’10”x 50’2” x 21’3”. The 2-shaft vertical expansion engines supplied with the 18 Belleville boilers 10.000 ihp allowing a speed of 19 knots. Coal bunker capacity maximum 640 tons. Her crew numbered 459 men. The original armament consisted of 2x1-7.6” guns (1 x fore, 1 x aft) and 10-5.5“ (4 fore, 4 aft, 2 amidships all protected by either port or open back shields) guns. She was also armoured consisting of a 2.3” thick belts while the conning turret and the gun turrets were protected by respectively 5½-7” and 9”. The belt stretched form 4’1” below to 8’2’ above the waterline connected with a curved armour deck which had at the slopes a thickness of 3.3” decreasing to just 1.7 on the flat space. Three funnels, 2 masts.
