Isly was a protected cruiser built in the late 1880s and early 1890s for the French Navy. The second and final member of the class, Isly and her sister ship were ordered during the tenure of Admiral Théophile Aube as Minister of Marine according to the theories of the doctrine. The ships were intended as long-range commerce raiders, and they were armed with a main battery of four guns, were protected by an armor deck that was thick, and were capable of steaming at a top speed of around .
Isly initially served with the Reserve Division of the Northern Squadron, spending only part of the year in active service for training exercises. She was deployed to French Indochina from 1895 to 1896 and then again from 1897 to 1899. After returning to France, she joined the North Atlantic station, operating out of Brest. Isly spent the next decade serving in the Atlantic, changing units as the fleet was repeatedly reorganized; she also received new water-tube boilers in 1902. In 1908, she was briefly sent to French Morocco, and the following year she was converted into a depot ship for destroyers. She was struck from the naval register in 1914 and thereafter broken up.
Design
Design work on the Jean Bart class began in 1885 under the direction of the French naval minister, Charles-Eugène Galiber, who wanted a new commerce raiding protected cruiser similar to the earlier , albeit smaller and with a smaller secondary battery. By the time French shipyards had responded to requests for design proposals, Admiral Théophile Aube had replaced Galiber as naval minister, but Aube was an ardent supporter of the doctrine that emphasized long-range, commerce raiding cruisers. He called for the construction of six large and ten small protected cruisers, though by the end of his tenure in 1887, the program had been reduced to five large, two medium, and six small cruisers. Aube ordered the first two Jean Bart-class cruisers to fulfill the requirements for the first set of large cruisers, and his successor, Édouard Barbey, authorized the third. The two Jean Barts proved to be the last of the initial series of commerce raiders built under the influence of the .
Isly was long between perpendiculars, with a beam of and a draft of . She displaced . Her crew varied over the course of her career, amounting to 387–405 officers and enlisted men. The ship's propulsion system consisted of a pair of triple-expansion steam engines driving two screw propellers. Steam was provided by eight coal-burning fire-tube boilers that were ducted into two funnels. Her machinery was rated to produce for a top speed of . She had a cruising radius of at .
The ship was armed with a main battery of four 28-caliber guns and a secondary battery of six 30-cal. guns. All of these guns were placed in individual pivot mounts; the 164 mm guns were in sponsons located fore and aft, with two guns per broadside. Four of the 138 mm guns were in sponsons between the 164 mm guns, one was in an embrasure in the forecastle and the last was in a swivel mount on the stern. For close-range defense against torpedo boats, she carried six 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns and eight Hotchkiss revolver cannon. She was also armed with five torpedo tubes in her hull above the waterline. Armor protection consisted of a curved armor deck that was thick, along with plating on the conning tower. The main and secondary guns received thick gun shields.
Modifications
In 1897, Isly had her heavy military masts replaced with light pole masts in an attempt to reduce topweight. At that time, she also had her bow and stern torpedo tubes removed. Another refit took place in 1909, during which her light armament was standardized to twelve 47 mm guns. The navy considered replacing her boilers in 1910, but decided against it due to the cost.
Service history
Isly was ordered on 1 March 1887 and she was laid down at the in Brest, France on 3 July 1887, before the lead ship of her class, , began construction. She was launched on 22 June 1891 and was commissioned on 25 October 1892 to begin sea trials. During her initial testing, she reached a top speed of using forced draft, though the test was conducted in poor weather that reduced the ship's speed by about half a knot. The trials lasted nearly a year, and she was finally placed in full commission for active service on 20 September 1893. Ten days later, she steamed to Cherbourg to join the (Northern Squadron). She was assigned to the Reserve Division of the Northern Squadron, which that time included the ironclad , the coastal defense ships and , and the torpedo cruiser .