Squadron Battleships, 1859-1882: Photo Gallery (1)
In fleet lists as Frégates cuirasses 1859, to Frégates cuirassées de 1er rang 1865 (Magenta class to Vaisseaux cuirasses), all to Cuirassés de 1er rang 1873 and Cuirassés d’escadre 1880.
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Broadside Ironclads: Gloire, Magenta, Provence, and Héroïne classes (on list 1859-1862)
Gloire
Gloire (French ironclad frigate, wooden hull). Note the conning tower forward of the mizzen mast, the two-decker behind her to the left and the paddle steamer to the right. (Photo: Private digital collection)
Magenta
Magenta (Ironclad two-decker, wooden hull). Sister Solferino is behind her. (Photo on card by Maison Rideau, Cherbourg)
Provence
Provence (French ironclad frigate) at Toulon with a later class ironclad astern. (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-74882 from ONI album of French warships)
Provence
Provence (French ironclad frigate) at Brest. (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-74806 from ONI album of French warships)
Surveillante
Surveillante (French ironclad frigate, Provence class). (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-75901 from ONI album of French warships)
Surveillante
Surveillante (French ironclad frigate). (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-75900 from ONI album of French warships)
Gauloise
Gauloise (French ironclad frigate, Provence class, wooden hull) being launched at Brest on 26 April 1865 during the three days of festivities surrounding the arrival of the railroad at Brest on 25 April. The railroad reduced the travel time between Paris and Brest from 53 to 17 hours. The location shown here generally matches that shown in the following photograph as well as contemporary press descriptions. (Drawing: Wikimedia from Archives M&M Brest 4fi00026 and L'Illustration 13 May 1865 p. 293)
Gauloise
Gauloise (French ironclad frigate). This launching took place on one of the four cales de la Boucherie that were built in the 1830s in a 1777 extension of the Brest dockyard upriver from the main arsenal. For later images of this location see the station battleship Bayard and the 2nd class cruiser Nielly. (Photo: Wikimedia from Archives M&M Brest 2Fi06387)
New Shipways at Brest
In 1777 an open area upriver from the arsenal at Brest was fortified to shelter 20 more large ships in the Penfeld River in addition to the original 60. In the 1830s four cales (shipways) de la Boucherie were built there, and in the 1850s two smaller cales du Bocage were added. This map is dated 1855. One shipway from each group was removed circa the 1870s. (Map: BNF-btv1b530849639, see also BNF-btv1b84403911)
Héroïne
Héroïne (French ironclad frigate, iron hull), under sail in 1894 enroute Dakar to serve as a station ship there. (Photo: Private digital collection)
Central Battery Ironclads: Océan and Friedland classes (1866)
Océan
Océan (French ironclad frigate, wooden hull) at Toulon. (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-74922 from ONI album of French warships)
Océan
Océan (French ironclad frigate). View of the after deck with the ship's wheel and a small compass platform behind it with the traditional inscription "Honneur et Patrie." The "M" above it raises the possibility that the ship is Marengo. (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-74923 from ONI album of French warships)
Marengo
Marengo (French ironclad frigate, Océan class). (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-74929 from ONI album of French warships)
Marengo
Marengo (French ironclad frigate). (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-74812 from ONI album of French warships)
Marengo
Marengo (French ironclad frigate). View of the after deck showing the mizzen mast with the ship's wheel barely visible behind it and one of the ship's four bronze 12-pounder (121mm) deck guns. (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-74925 from ONI album of French warships)
Marengo
Marengo (French ironclad frigate). (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-64448)
Suffren
Suffren (French ironclad frigate, Océan class). (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-74914 from ONI album of French warships)
Suffren
Suffren (French ironclad frigate) at Havre in 1895 for review of Escadre du Nord by Faure. (Photo: Private digital collection)
Friedland
Friedland (French 1st rank ironclad frigate, iron hull). (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-74919 from ONI album of French warships)
Richelieu and Colbert classes (1869-1870)
Richelieu
Richelieu (French ironclad frigate, wooden hull) at Algiers, with a single top on each mast and a long bowsprit. (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-74903 from ONI album of French warships)
Richelieu
Richelieu (French ironclad frigate), probably at Toulon, with double tops on each mast and a shortened bowsprit. (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-64441)
Richelieu
Richelieu (French ironclad frigate) with double tops on each mast and a shortened bowsprit. (Photo: Print by G.J.)
Colbert
Colbert (French ironclad frigate, wooden hull), at Brest with Redoutable ahead of her. Mark Saibène's book says this is Trident circa 1880. (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-74956 from ONI album of French warships)
Colbert
Colbert (French ironclad frigate). (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-74918 from ONI album of French warships)
Colbert
Colbert (French ironclad frigate) with reduced rig. (Photo: Print by G.J.)
Colbert
Colbert (French ironclad frigate) with reduced rig. (Photo: Shipscribe collection)
Trident
Trident (French ironclad frigate, Colbert class). (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-74920 from ONI album of French warships)
Trident
Trident (French ironclad frigate) with reduced rig. (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-74941 from ONI album of French warships)
Redoutable and Dévastation classes (1873-1875)
Redoutable
Redoutable (French 1st rank ironclad, steel & iron hull). (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-74912 from ONI album of French warships)
Redoutable
Redoutable (French 1st rank ironclad) at Lorient on 14 December 1878. (Photo: Private digital collection)
Redoutable
Redoutable (French 1st rank ironclad). (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-74942 from ONI album of French warships)
Redoutable
Redoutable (French 1st rank ironclad). (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-66089, Farenholt collection from ONI)
Redoutable
Redoutable (French 1st rank ironclad) at Saigon in her final configuration. (Photo: Postcard by G.B.)
Dévastation
Dévastation (French 1st rank ironclad, steel & iron hull). (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-74911 from ONI album of French warships)
Dévastation
Dévastation (French 1st rank ironclad). (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-74939 from ONI album of French warships)
Dévastation
Dévastation (French 1st rank ironclad). (Photo: Private digital collection)
Dévastation
Dévastation (French 1st rank ironclad) on 30 July 1903 in her final configuration. (Photo: Feuille signalétique, Shipscribe collection)
Courbet
Courbet (French 1st rank ironclad, Dévastation class) with bowsprit. The two ships of the Dévastation class differed in many details. (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-74926 from ONI album of French warships)
Courbet
Courbet (French 1st rank ironclad) circa 1898 with a new conning tower forward of the bridge and without the funnel for the auxiliary boilers forward of the bridge. The rebuilt Amiral Baudin is on the right. (Photo: Postcard by ND)
Courbet
Courbet (French 1st rank ironclad) in her final configuration. (Photo: Feuille signalétique, Shipscribe collection)