Alexandre Franquet (28 June 1828 in
Songy – 25 August 1907 in
Lorient) was a French Navy officer. He was in command during the
Battle of Havana, the most significant naval engagement of the
Franco-Prussian War.
Biography
Franquet joined the
École navale in October 1843. He took part in the
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...
, serving on the
corvette
A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...
''Galatée'' and the
gunboat ''Lance'' (1854–1855) with the rank of ''
Ensigne''. He then took part in campaigns in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
(1858–1860) on ''Didon'' and ''Primauguet''.
During the
Franco-Prussian War, with the rank of ''
capitaine de frégate
The rank insignia of the French Navy (french: Marine Nationale) are worn on shoulder straps of shirts and white jackets, and on sleeves for navy jackets and mantels. Until 2005, only commissioned officers had an anchor on their insignia, but enli ...
'', he was in command of the
aviso ''
Bouvet''. On 9 November 1870, he fought the German gunboat ''Meteor'' off
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. . Following the inconclusive engagement, he was promoted to ''
capitaine de vaisseau
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The rank is equal to the army rank of colonel and air force rank of group captain.
Equivalent ranks worldwide includ ...
''. In June 1881, he rose to ''
contre-amiral'' and took command of the squadron based in
Algeria
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, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
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, capital = Algiers
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, relig ...
. Promoted to ''
vice-amiral'' in February 1888, he was appointed
Maritime Prefect
A maritime prefect ( French: ''Préfet maritime'') is a servant of the French State who exercises authority over the sea in a particular region under French jurisdiction, known as a maritime arrondissement (''Arrondissement maritime''). His admini ...
in
Rochefort
Rochefort () may refer to:
Places France
* Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department
** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard
* Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department
* Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...
in September 1892. He retired in June 1893.
Honours
* Commandeur of the Legion of Honour on 28 December 1884, Grand Officier on 10 July 1890.
* Médaille de Crimée
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Franquet, Alexandre
French military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War
École Navale alumni
French Navy admirals
1828 births
1907 deaths