Paul DISLÈRE (1840-1928) naval engineer. L.A.S., Stockholm S - Lot 370

Paul DISLÈRE (1840-1928) naval engineer. L.A.S., Stockholm September 21, 1876, to an admiral; 4 pages in-8 filled with small, tight handwriting. Long letter about his mission in the ports of northern Europe. "So far, everything has succeeded far beyond my expectations, and I have been able to gather documents which I believe to be of interest. After Berlin, he visited Stettin, Wilhelmshaven, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Hamburg and Kiel: "Since the war, I was the first French officer to enter a German arsenal"... He gives details of "their new battleships under construction": corvettes which "are only shallow-draught coastguards for the Baltic, carrying 5 26-cm cannons firing barbettes"; and "battleships built in place of coastguards [...] They have a full battleship belt and a semi-circular shield at the bow, behind which 1 305-cm Krupp cannon moves on a rotating platform [...]. [...] 5 of these gunboats are being built in Bremen [...] The characteristic point to be observed on all the warships I meet is their armament, which is stronger than ours [...] I have also seen some interesting new weapons: machine guns and regulation magazine rifles in Scandinavian navies"... Etc. He was well received in Denmark, Sweden and Norway, where he saw "some very interesting types of small ships for the coasts and fjords", and witnessed torpedo experiments... Etc.