La Zélée is a gunboat of the French fleet , built to serve in Indochina . Died during the shelling of Papeete by the German cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau on September 22, 1914 .
| La Zele | |
|---|---|
| La zélée | |
 | |
| Service | |
 France | |
| Class and type of vessel | gunboat type Surprise |
| Organization |  French Navy |
| Manufacturer | Arsenal Rochefort |
| Construction started | April 21, 1898 |
| Launched | October 18, 1899 |
| Commissioned | 1900 year |
| Withdrawn from the fleet | September 22, 1914 |
| Status | Killed in battle |
| Main characteristics | |
| Displacement | 646 t |
| Length | 56.3 m. |
| Width | 7.9 m. |
| Draft | 3.09 m. |
| Engines | 2 Nikloss boilers |
| Power | 900 h.p. |
| Speed | 13 knots |
| Crew | 99 people |
| Armament | |
| Artillery | 2 × 3.94- dm (100 mm ) guns 4 × 2.56- dm (65 mm ) guns, 4 × 37 mm guns |
Service
At the beginning of World War I, a gunboat was located in Papeete in Tahiti . Under the command of Maxim Destremo, the ship stopped and captured the German transport Walkure with a load of pearls as a prize.
September 22, 1914 the port of Papeete was attacked by German armored cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau . Artillery fire of the German ships La Zélée and Walkure were sunk.
See also
Papeete bombing