French Warships in the Age of Steam 1859–1914

Stephen S Roberts

• Publisher: Seaforth Publishing
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN: 9781526745347
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: 19th Century History
• Index: History

In 1859 the French navy was at a high point, having fought alongside the British in the Crimean War and developed a formidable fleet of fast wooden-hulled steam ships of the line. But in that very year the world’s navies had to start over again when French naval architect Dupuy de Lôme introduced the ironclad battleship. The French navy then went through three tumultuous phases. In the 1860s and 1870s it focused on building a new traditionally-structured fleet in which wooden-hulled battleships gave way to iron and steel ships with massive guns and armour. In the 1880s and 1890s this effort was disrupted by a vigorous contest between battleship sailors and advocates of fast steel cruisers and small torpedo craft, leaving France by the end of the 1890s with few new battleships (none as large as the best foreign ships) but some two hundred torpedo boats. The Fashoda crisis in 1898 revealed the weakness of the French navy and between 1900 and 1914 the French focused on building a strong battle fleet. In 1914 this fleet remained well behind those of Britain and Germany in numbers, but taken individually French warships remained among the best in the world. This book is the first comprehensive listing in English of the over 1400 warships that were added to the official French navy fleet list between 1 January 1859 and World War I. It includes everything from the largest battleships to a small armoured gunboat that looked like a floating egg. The ships are listed in three separate parts to keep contemporary ships together and then by ship type and class. For each class the book provides a design history explaining why the ships were built, substantial technical characteristics for the ships as completed and after major reconstructions, and selected career milestones including the ultimate fate of each ship. Like its predecessors written jointly with Rif Winfield, French Warships in the Age of Sail 1626-1786 and French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786-1861, with which it forms the third in a trilogy, it provides a complete picture of the overall development of French warships over a period of almost three centuries.

The French Navy as at 1 January 1859

T he following is a complete list of the screw-propelled ships that were listed in the official French Liste de la Flotte dated 1 January 1859 along with the paddle and sailing ships that were launched in 1852 or later. They are shown here as listed in that document with the addition of basic hull measurements, launch, strike, and last mention (D:) dates, along with a few key career events and any changes in name. Long intervals between strike and last mention dates usually indicate harbour service. Numbers of guns and men are the reglementary (officially assigned) ones shown in the fleet list and may not reflect the actual numbers carried. Nominal horsepower figures are from the 1860 fleet list in which they first appeared. The reader is referred to French Warships in the Age of Sail, 1786–1861, for full details on the vessels listed here and also for the earlier paddle and sailing vessels.

Screw Ships of the Line.

(A) Screw 1st Rank Ships of the Line (Vaisseaux à hélice de 1re rang). Afloat

Bretagne. 1,200nhp. 130 guns. 1,170 men. 81.000m wl x 18.080m ext. 6,873.750t disp. L: 17.2.1855. Struck 26.7.1866 at Brest, school for novices and apprentice seamen, exchanged names with her relief, Ville de Bordeaux, 28.1.1880. D: 1881.

Louis XIV. 600nhp (480 from 1867). 114 guns. 1,079 men. 63.90m deck, 63.28m wl x 17.40m ext. 5,170t disp. L: 1857. Became gunnery school at Brest c1863 and at Toulon c1866 (replaced Montebello) to 28.5.1872 (replaced by Alexandre). Struck 3.5.1880 at Toulon. D: 1882.

Montebello. 140nhp (110 from 1867). 114 guns. 1,063 men. 63.31m deck, 63.20m wl x 17.12m ext. 4,830t disp. L: 23.8.1852. Gunnery school at Toulon 12.4.1860 to 28.11.1865. Struck 25.7.1867 at Toulon. D: 1889.

Souverain. 600nhp (480 from 1867). 114 guns. 1,079 men. 63.45m deck, 62.61m wl x 17.34m ext. 5,096t disp. L: 11.1854. Engines removed 11.1876, gunnery school at Toulon 1876 to 1885 (replaced Alexandre, replaced by Couronne). Struck 8.12.1885 at Toulon. D: 1905.

Ville de Paris. 600nhp (480 from 1867). 114 guns. 1,079 men. 68.50m deck, 69.05m wl x 17.15m ext. 5,302t disp. L: 5.1858. Converted at Toulon to a steam transport 1867 to 1.1868 but remained in reserve. Transport 1871. Struck 7.2.1882 at Toulon. Sold 2.3.1898 at La Seyne, BU completed 7.1898.

(B) Screw 2nd Rank Ships of the Line (Vaisseaux à hélice de 2e rang). Afloat

Alexandre. 800nhp (640 from 1867). 90 guns. 913 men. 73.38m deck, 72.03m wl x 16.25m ext. 5,292t disp. L: 27.3.1857. Engines condemned and ordered removed 20.11.1871. Gunnery school at Toulon 28.5.1872 to 1876 (replaced Louis XIV, replaced by Souverain). Struck 22.2.1877 at Toulon. D: 1900.

Algésiras. 900nhp (800 from 1867). 90 guns. 913 men. 71.46m deck, 71.23m wl x 16.80m ext. 5,121t disp. L: 4.10.1855. Rebuilt as a transport in 1869-70, gaining an additional deck and a poop. School for torpedoes at Toulon 1888-1898 (replaced Japon, replaced by Marceau and Magenta). Struck 20.11.1901 at Toulon. School for torpedo boat engineers 1902-06. Burned accidentally 25.11.1906. D: 1907.

Arcole. 900nhp (800 from 1867). 90 guns. 913 men. As Algésiras. L: 20.3.1855. Struck 11.4.1870 at Cherbourg. D: 1872.

Austerlitz. 500nhp (420 from 1867). 84 guns. 883 men. 70.62m deck, 70.32m wl x 16.80m ext. 4,467t disp. L: 15.9.1852. Struck 22.7.1872 at Brest. School for boys at Brest 1876-1894 (replaced the sailing twodecker Inflexible, replaced by Bretagne ex Fontenoy). D: 1895.

Duguay-Trouin. 600nhp (420 from 1867). 82 guns. 883 men. 64.90m deck, 62.25m wl x 16.80m ext. 4,636t disp. L: 1857. Struck 22.7.1872 at Brest, renamed Vétéran 1872. D: 1877.

Duquesne. 650nhp (530 from 1867). 80 guns. 814 men. 62.84m deck, 61.40m wl x 16.88m ext. 4,566t disp. L: 2.12.1853. Struck 6.9.1867 at Brest, renamed Veilleur c1872. D: 1888.

Eylau. 900nhp (800 from 1867). 90 guns. 913 men. 69.22m deck, 68.72m wl x 16.80m ext. 5,023t disp. L: 15.5.1856. Third deck added and converted to transport at Toulon 1862 or early 1863. Struck 22.2.1877 at Toulon. D: 1905.

Fleurus. 650nhp (530 from 1867). 90 guns. 883 men. 62.50m deck, 62.07m wl x 16.98m ext. 4,509t disp. L: 2.12.1853. Engines condemned 21.5.67, refitted 8-9.1867 at Toulon as a headquarters ship for Saigon. In commission between 26.8.1867 and 25.5.1868 for the voyage to Indochina and then replaced the 74-gun Duperré there as headquarters ship. Struck 17.8.1869 at Saigon. D: 1877.

Impérial. 900nhp (800 from 1867). 90 guns. 913 men. As Algésiras. L: 15.9.1856. Struck 15.11.1869 at Toulon, renamed Jupiter 19.9.1870. D: 1897.

Napoléon. 900nhp (800 from 1867). 90 guns. 913 men. 71.46m deck, 71.23m wl x 16.80m ext. 5,120t disp. L: 16.5.1850. Struck 6.11.1876 at Brest. D: 1886.

Navarin. 650nhp (530 from 1867). 90 guns. 883 men. As Fleurus. L: 2.12.1853. Engines removed and converted at Toulon to a sailing transport 1873-74. Struck 13.7.1886 at Brest. D: 1908.

Prince Jérôme. 650nhp (530 from 1867). 90 guns. 883 men. 62.87m deck, 62.65m wl x 17.01m ext. 4,505t disp. L: 2.12.1853. Ex Annibal 24.5.1854, renamed Hoche 19.9.1870. Struck 6.6.1872 at Toulon, reinstated on the list 28.11.1872 as the sailing transport Loire. Struck 13.7.1886 at Saigon. D: 1897.

Redoutable. 900nhp (800 from 1867). 90 guns. 913 men. As Algésiras. L: 25.10.1855. Struck 15.11.1869 at Brest. D: 1874.

The former steam two-decker ship of the line Tage in the Penfeld at Brest around the early 1880s. She had been converted at Brest in 1875-76 to a sail transport to carry convicts to New Caledonia, and large sponsons for latrines had been added on each side amidships. She was struck in May 1884 at Brest. She was photographed by Émile Mage, who was active at Brest from 1860 to 1900. (NHHC from ONI album of French warships, NH-75902)

Tage. 600nhp (420 from 1867). 82 guns. 883 men. 64.07m deck, 63.72m wl x 16.75m ext. 4,707t disp. L: 1857. converted to sailing transport 12.1875-10.1876 at Brest. Struck 6.5.1884 at Brest, renamed Vétéran 1885. D: 1896.

Tourville. 650nhp (530 from 1867). 82 guns. 814 men. As Du...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Structure and Organisation of the Book
• Definitions and Terminology
• Political, Diplomatic, and Naval Chronology
• Preamble. The Triumph of Steam, 1818-1859
• The French Navy as at 1 January 1859
• Part 1.
• Part 2.
• Part 3.
• Appendix A. French Naval Artillery, 1786-1914.
• Appendix B. French Torpedoes, 1880-1912.
• Appendix C. French Ministers of Marine, 1855-1914.
• Appendix D. Naval Shipbuilding Directorates and Councils, 1859-1914.
• Appendix E. Selected French Naval Constructors, 1859-1914.
• Appendix F. French Naval Programmes, 1857-1914.
• Appendix G. French Naval Budgets, 1872-1914.
• Appendix H. French Naval Expenditures, 1858-1914.
• Appendix I. Budget and Programme Symbols.
• Appendix J. French Naval Squadrons (Escadres) and Divisions, 1874-1914.
• Sources and Bibliography.