shipstamps.co.uk

A huge five masted barque, reputed to be the largest sailing ship ever built.
Built 1912 at Bordeaux for Soc.Anon des Navires.
5633Gt, 4544Nt. L414.5ft B55ft D24.9ft.
Aux diesel 8 cyl 295nhp, 2 screws speed 10knts.
Steel hull with sail area of 6350sq mtrs. 20 sq sails and 12 triangular. 17knts in 5m breeze.
Maiden voyage Clydbank 5th December 1913 with coke and coal to New Caledonia - 92 days. 102 days back to Glasgow carrying nickel ore.
Sailed from Glasgow 29th October 1914 eluding German raider KARLSRUHE in South Atlantic.
Sold Dec 1916 to Cie Francaise de Marine ar de comm.
Continued cargo voyages throughout WW1.
After War her engines were removed. As sailing vessel she made runs of 400 miles per day.
Last voyage, cement and machinery to Thio, after discharging chrome and nockel. During the night she was borne onto Coya Reef, 60 miles from Noumea. Crew reached shore but the vessel was abandoned and a total loss.
France SG2011 Reunion SG488

Built as a 5-masted barque rigged steel hulled cargo vessel by Chantiers de la Gironde, Bordeaux, France for Société des Navires Mixtes (Prentout-Leblond-Leroux & Co.), Rouen, France.
March 1911 laid down
09 November 1911 launched as the FRANCE (II).
Tonnage 5,633 gross, 5,010 net, dim. 146.5 x 16.96 x 11.10m., draught 8.5m.
Powered by two auxiliary 8-cyl. Schnieder diesel engines, 950 hp., twin shafts.
Sail area 6,350 m², 32 sails.
Accommodation for passengers in 7 luxury passengers cabins.
Crew 45.
August 1913 made trials off La Pallace
October 1913 completed. Homeport Rouen.

At that time she was the largest sailing vessel built in the world, and special built for the French nickel ore trade from New Caledonia.
Fitted out with wireless and electric light.
She was built with a cellular double-bottom, divided in sections to form water ballast tanks. She could take 2.685 tons of ballast water.
Her maiden voyage was under Capt. Lagnel to Clydebank from where she left on 05 December 1913 with on board a load of coke and coal for Tchio, New Caledonia.
1915 Sold to Leroux-Henzey, Rouen.
1916 Sold to Cie Française de Marine et Commerce, Rouen. Two 90mm guns were fitted at the poop.
21 February 1917 she sailed from the Clyde with a cargo of coal bound for Montevideo. On 28 February she was attacked by a German U-boat in the evening off Cape Finisterre, but by setting all sails and full speed with the engines she escaped in the night.
From Montevideo she sailed to New York from where she left on 2 October with a cargo of case oil for Australia.
Then she sailed to New Caledonia to load nickel ore for France arriving in the River Gironde on 17 February 1919.
29 April 1919 she arrived in ballast in Le Havre where her engines were removed.
After removal of her engines she was towed to Shields on River Tyne, a new donkey-boiler fitted in for burning oil fuel.
01 December 1919 she sailed from the Tyne with a cargo of coal bound for Baltimore.
In 1920 she made an other voyage with coal from Leith to Baltimore, thereafter she sailed for St Nazaire.
Then she sailed in ballast again for Baltimore arriving there on 23 July 1920.
05 November 1920 she left Baltimore bound for St Nazaire, made the passage in 27 days.
17 February 1921 under tow she left St Nazaire bound for Newport in the Bristol Channel, sailed on 07 March fully loaded with 7,600 tons of coal bound for Lyttleton, New Zealand where she arrived on 25 June 1921.
05 September 1921 she sailed from Wellington with the largest cargo ever shipped in sail from New Zealand, 11,000 bales of wool and 6,000 casks of tallow, she sailed for London where she arrived early December 1921.
05 February 1922 she left London with on board cement, steel rails and trucks for the nickel ore mines in Tchio, New Caledonia, where she arrived on 19 May 1922.
July in ballast from Tchio to Pouembout, New Caledonia to load 8,000 ton of nickel ore.
During this voyage in the night of 11/12 July during a calm night without wind she drifted with the current on a coral reef, near a place called Coya about 60 miles from the entrance to Noumea. After she grounded she bumped heavily all night long. (21 00S 165 00E)
Her S.O.S. signal was picked up by the British steamer CANADIAN TRANSPORTER, but before she reached the wreck, the crew of the FRANCE had already abandoned the vessel, which was hard aground and during low tide about dry on the reef. At that time freights were very low and the owner did not want to pay any salvage money to refloat her
December 1922 her hull was sold for £2,000.
1944 The remains of the wreck were bombed by American bombers for target practice.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France_II The Bounty Ships of France by Alan Villiers and Henri Picard.

The French stamp was designed by the French marine painter Roger Chapelet (1903 – 1995)