M. Dupuy De Lome died on the 1st Feb., 1885, at the age of 68. It may be
questioned whether any constructor has ever rendered greater services to
the navy of any country than those rendered by M. Dupuy to the French Navy
during the thirty years 1840-70. Since the fall of the Empire his
connection with the naval service has been terminated, but his
professional and scientific standing has been fully maintained, and his
energies have found scope in the conduct of the great and growing business
of the _Forges et Chantiers_ Company. In him France has undoubtedly lost
her greatest naval architect.
The son of a naval officer, M. Dupuy was born in October, 1816, near
L'Orient, and entered _L'Ecole Polytechnique_ when nineteen years of age.
In that famous establishment he received the thorough preliminary training
which France has so long and wisely provided for those who are to become
the designers of her war-ships. After finishing his professional
education, he came to England about 1842, and made a thorough study of
iron shipbuilding and steam navigation, in both of which we then held a
long lead of France. His report, subsequently published under the title of
"Memoire sur la Construction des Batiments en Fer"--Paris, 1844--is
probably the best account given to the world of the state of iron
shipbuilding forty years ago: and its perusal not merely enables one to
gauge the progress since made, but to form an estimate of the great
ability and clear style of the writer. We may assume that this visit to
England, coming after the thorough education received in Francem did much
toward forming the views to which expression was soon given in designs and
reports on new types of war ships.
[Illustration: M. DUPUY DE LOME.]
When the young constructor settled down to his work in the arsenal at
Toulon, on his return from England, the only armed steamships in the
French Navy were propelled by paddle-wheels, and there was great
opposition to the introduction of steam power into line-of-battle ships.
The paddle-wheel was seen to be unsuited to such large fighting vessels,
and there was no confidence in the screw; while the great majority of
naval officers in France, as well as in England, were averse to any
decrease in sail spread. M. Dupuy had carefully studied the details of the
Great Britain, which he had seen building at Bristol, and was convinced
that full steam power should be given to line-of-battle ships. He grasped
and held fast to this fundamental idea; and as early as the year 1845 he
addressed a remarkable report to the Minister of Marine, suggesting the
construction of a full-powered screw frigate, to be built with an iron
hull, and protected by a belt of armor formed by several thicknesses of
iron plating. This report alone would justify his claim to be considered
the leading naval architect of that time; it did not bear fruit fully for
some years, but its recommendations were ultimately realized.
M. Dupuy did not stand alone in the feeling that radical changes in the
construction and propulsion of ships were imminent. His colleagues in the
"Genie Maritime" were impressed with the same idea: and in England, about
this date, the earliest screw liners--the wonderful converted "block
ships"--were ordered. This action on our part decided the French also to
begin the conversion of their sailing line-of-battle ships into vessels
with auxiliary steam power. But M. Dupuy conceived and carried out the
bolder scheme of designing a full-powered screw liner, and in 1847 the
Napoleon was ordered. Her success made the steam reconstruction of the
fleets of the world a necessity. She was launched in 1850, tried in 1852,
and attained a speed of nearly 14 knots an hour. During the Crimean War
her performances attracted great attention, and the type she represented
was largely increased in numbers. She was about 240 ft. in length, 55 ft.
in breadth, and of 5,000 tons displacement, with two gun decks. In her
design boldness and prudence were well combined. The good qualities of
the sailing line-of-battle ships which had been secured by the genius of
Sané and his colleagues were maintained; while the new conditions involved
in the introduction of steam power and large coal supply were thoroughly
fulfilled. The steam reconstruction had scarcely attained its full swing
when the ironclad reconstructor became imperative. Here again M. Dupuy
occupied a distinguished position, and realized his scheme of 1845 with
certain modifications. His eminent services led to his appointment in 1857
to the highest office in the Constructive Corps--Directeur du
Materiel--and his design for the earliest seagoing ironclad, La Gloire,
was approved in the same year. Once started, the French pressed on the
construction of their ironclads with all haste, and in the autumn of 1863
they had at sea a squadron of five ironclads, not including in this list
La Gloire. It is unnecessary to trace further the progress of the race for
maritime supremacy; but to the energy and great ability of M. Dupuy de
Lome must be largely attributed the fact that France took, and for a long
time kept, such a lead of us in ironclads. In the design of La Gloire, as
is well known, he again followed the principle of utilizing known forms
and dimensions as far as was consistent with modern conditions, and the
Napoleon was nearly reproduced in La Gloire so far as under-water shape
was concerned, but with one gun deck instead of two, and with a completely
protected battery. So long as he retained office, M. Dupuy consistently
adhered to this principle; but he at the same time showed himself ready to
consider how best to meet the constantly growing demands for thicker
armor, heavier guns, and higher speeds. It is singular, however,
especially when his early enthusiasm for iron ships is remembered, to find
how small a proportion of the ships added to the French Navy during his
occupancy of office were built of anything but wood.
Distinctions were showered upon him. In 1860 he was made a Councilor of
State, and represented the French Admiralty in Parliament; from 1869 to
1875 he was a Deputy, and in 1877 he was elected a Life Senator. He was a
member of the Academy of Sciences and of other distinguished scientific
bodies. Of late his name has been little connected with ship design; but
his interest in the subject was unabated.
In 1870 M. Dupuy devoted a large amount of time and thought to perfecting
a system of navigable balloons, and the French Government gave him great
assistance in carrying out the experiments. It does not seem, however,
that any sufficient success was reached to justify further trials. The
theoretical investigations on which the design was based, and the
ingenuity displayed in carrying out the construction of the balloon, were
worthy of M. Dupuy's high reputation. The fleet that he constructed for
France has already disappeared to a great extent, and the vessels still
remaining will soon fall out of service. But the name and reputation of
their designer will live as long as the history of naval construction is
studied.--_The Engineer_.
* * * * *