„Guichen“ – the French protected cruiser

Armored cruiser "Guichen" is a Class I armored cruiser of the French Navy, built in 1890. It was designed as an ocean-going "ultra-fast" merchant destroyer. Commissioned by the French Minister of Marine, Felix Faure, a supporter of the Young School, she was built in tandem with the cruiser "Châteaurenault", which was of a completely different design. The origin of the project was determined by the desire to acquire a cruiser in the best possible way for ocean trade destruction operations. Traditional cruisers of the 1890s generally had a short range and could not maintain high speed for long periods of time, unlike transatlantic liners and dry bulk carriers. It was necessary to create a very fast ship with large reserves of coal and a reliable power plant. At the same time, it also did not have to be too large for financial reasons, which meant weakening the weapons and armor. The cruiser "Guichen" was unique in the French Navy in that, its chief designer chose to remain anonymous. Modern researchers believe, that it was the famous shipbuilder Emile Bertin, because his characteristic style can be seen in the composition of the powerhouse. "Guichen's" keel was laid in 1895. October in Saint-Nazaire, at the "Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire" private shipyard. The cruiser was launched in 1898 on May 15, and was put into use in 1901. Participated in the First World War; in 1915 in September, actively participated in the evacuation of the Armenian rebels, surrounded by the Turks, who organized a defense on Mount Musa Dagh in Cilicia. In 1917 it was partially disarmed and used as a military transport. Delisted and scrapped in 1921. Despite many advanced technical solutions, "Guichen" was considered a clearly unsuccessful ship and was heavily criticized in the French naval press. It was even said, that 32 million francs (the cost of the "Guichen" and the "Châteaurenault") were thrown to the winds, and their crews served the country without benefit. In an attempt to defuse the situation, the fleet command assigned cruisers to transport troops, although the "Châteaurenault", which had more spacious quarters, had a clear advantage in this regard. As a military transport, the "Guichen" was used mainly during the First World War. Using the cruiser as intended was prevented by its too weak armament.

A medium sized, complex, well designed and detailed model of an interesting ship for intermediate to advanced modelers. Where necessary, parts are double-sided printed, some parts are printed with "Metallic" type bronze paint.