Coast Defense Ships: Photo Gallery (1)

Taureau and the later Bélier and Cerbère, right to left, in reserve at Cherbourg. Bouledogue was stationed at Lorient and Tigre at Brest. (Photo: NH 74921 from ONI Album of French Warships)

Cerbère (Coast defense ironclad) at Cherbourg. (Photo: Facebook by Klaus Haller on 28.9.2021)

Bélier (Coast defense ironclad) in drydock at Cherbourg. Note the twin two-bladed screws and complex rudder. (Photo: Facebook by Vladimir Yakubov on 20.11.2022 from SHD Cherbourg 4_Fi_709)

Bouledogue (Coast defense ironclad) at Lorient. Note the pair of short funnels. (Photo: Facebook by Gottfried Alexander van der Horst on 14.9.2020)

Bouledogue (Coast defense ironclad) in reserve at Lorient. The larger station ironclad may be Triomphante, completed at Rochefort in 1879 and in reserve, possibly here, into 1881, and the smaller one may be Atalante, which was in reserve at Lorient in 1878-1882. (Photo: Facebook by Andrey Myatishkin on 17.11.2024)

Tigre (Coast defense ironclad) under construction ca. 1869 in drydock at Rochefort. (Photo: Facebook by A. Myatishkin on 15.5.2025 and Wikimedia from SHD Rochefort MR_5_G_1246)

Tigre (Coast defense ironclad) nearly ready for launching ca. 1871 in drydock at Rochefort. Note the pair of short funnels. (Photo: Facebook by A. Myatishkin on 9.8.2023 from SHD Rochefort MR_5_G_1093)

Onondaga (Coast defense ironclad). This American Civil War monitor was built in 1862-64, purchased by France in 1867, and refitted at Brest in 1868-69. She was photographed here at Brest in 1870 by Émile Mage, probably after being recommissioned for the Franco-Prussian War. (Photo: Wikimedia from Musée Bretagne FLMjo294969)

Onondaga (Coast defense ironclad) laid up at Brest. The ship to her left is Victorieuse, which was recommissioned as a division flagship in the Escadre du Nord in October 1892 with a much reduced rig. At the extreme right is the bow of the ex-frigate Souveraine, which was broken up in 1892. This view is cropped from a folded panorama looking downstream under the closed Pont National swing bridge (1861-1944). (Photo: Wikimedia from Archives M&M Brest 3fi114-081)

Tempête (2nd class coast defense ironclad). She spent much of her career at Brest. (Photo: NH 66094, Farenholt collection from ONI)

Tempête (2nd class coast defense ironclad) at Bizerte. She was there between 1897 and 1905. (Photo: Postcard by E. Fages, Bizerte)

Vengeur (2nd class coast defense ironclad). She was at Cherbourg from 1885 to 1905. (Photo: Feuille signalétique, Archives Marine BB8-2345)

Vengeur (2nd class coast defense ironclad). (Photo: NH 74908 from ONI Album of French Warships)

Tonnerre (1st class coast defense ironclad) at Brest. She was there from 1878 to 1882.(Photo: Feuille signalétique, Archives Marine BB8-2345)

Tonnerre (1st class coast defense ironclad). Her machinery was taken from the ironclad Normandie. (Photo: NH 74885 from ONI Album of French Warships)

Tonnerre (1st class coast defense ironclad), possibly shown during her stay at Toulon from 1882 to 1885. (Photo: NH 88825)

Tonnerre (1st class coast defense ironclad). After a stay at Toulon from 1882 to 1885 she served the rest of her career at Cherbourg. (Photo: NH 66096, Farenholt collection from ONI)

Fulminant (1st class coast defense ironclad) at Cherbourg, where she served from 1881 to 1887 with a trip to Toulon in 1885-86. (Photo: Facebook by V. Yakubov on 13.5.2023 from print by N.B.)

Fulminant (1st class coast defense ironclad) at Brest, where she served after 1887. (Photo: Shipscribe)

Fulminant (1st class coast defense ironclad). (Photo: Shipscribe)

Fulminant (1st class coast defense ironclad). (Photo: Feuille signalétique, Archives Marine BB8-2345)

Tonnant (2nd class coast defense ironclad) at Toulon between August 1885 and April 1886. She spent the rest of her career at Cherbourg. (Photo: Facebook by V. Yakubov on 26.5.2025)

Vengeur and Tonnant (2nd class coast defense ironclads) moored in the Napoleon III Basin at Cherbourg between a paddle steamer and the two-decker barracks hulk Jemmapes. The original row of open building ways for wooden ships is behind them. (Photo: NH 74907 from ONI Album of French Warships)

Furieux (1st class coast defense battleship). (Photo: Shipscribe)

Furieux (1st class coast defense battleship). (Photo: NH 64447)

Furieux (1st class coast defense battleship). (Photo: Facebook by Ljubomir Petrovic on 22.11.2024)

Furieux (1st class coast defense battleship) soon after modernization. (Photo: Facebook by V. Yakubov on 27.2.2024)

Furieux (1st class coast defense battleship) at Brest with funnel extensions. (Photo: Postcard by Artaud Nozias, Nantes)

Terrible (1st class coast defense battleship) on 2 February 1880 in a temporary shiphouse on a cale (shipway) du Bocage in an upriver extension of the Brest arsenal that was fortified in 1777. Behind her and facing away are the shiphouses for Amiral Baudin and Nielly, which along with Bayard are on cales de la Boucherie. On the ground to the left of Terrible are plates, irons, and angle irons for her and Amiral Baudin. In the bottom right corner is the roof over D'Estaing, which had been launched in the main dockyard in October 1879. (Photo: Wikimedia from Archives M&M Brest 2Fi06368)

Terrible (1st class coast defense battleship) fitting out in the upper part of the Penfeld river. The bastion fortifications in the background are those built around the Plateau de Bordenave in 1777 where four cales (shipways) de la Boucherie were built in the 1830s and two smaller cales du Bocage were added in the early 1850s. One shipway from each group was removed circa the 1870s. (Photo: Wikimedia from Archives M&M Brest 2Fi11241)

Caïman (1st class coast defense battleship). She was the only one of the class built with double tops and she also had a different shape stern. Later her after tripod mast was replaced with a short pole. (Photo: Print by G.J.)

Indomptable (1st class coast defense battleship). (Photo: NH 74940 from ONI Album of French Warships)

Indomptable (1st class coast defense battleship), plan of forward gun mount and ground tackle by Usine de la Marine, Indret. (Photo: Facebook)

Indomptable (1st class coast defense battleship). In a later refit her after tripod mast was replaced with a short pole and the outer casings on her funnels were lowered. (Photo: NH 74963 from ONI Album of French Warships)

Requin (1st class coast defense battleship). (Photo: NH 64451)

Requin (1st class coast defense battleship), stern view. (Photo: NH 64450)

Terrible (1st class coast defense battleship). She was the only one of the class built with square tops. Both masts were later reduced to poles with no tops. She was not modernized like the others but did receive two 340mm guns behind heavy shields in 1900. (Photo: Facebook by Vladimir Yakubov on 14.5.2023)

Terrible (1st class coast defense battleship), stern view. (Photo: Facebook by V. Yakubov on 14.5.2023)

Indomptable (1st class coast defense battleship) on 27 May 1902 after completing modernization. Caïman completed a similar modernization in 1903 but with more pilot house windows. (Photo: Feuille signalétique, Archives Marine BB4-2026)

Indomptable (1st class coast defense battleship) after modernization. (Photo: Shipscribe)

Coast defense battleships at Cherbourg: from right to left Furieux, Caïman, and Indomptable, all after modernization, and the newer Valmy. Note the different stern configurations of Indomptable and Caïman. (Photo: Postcard by L. Ratti, Cherbourg)

Requin (1st class coast defense battleship) at Cherbourg after modernization. (Photo: Postcard by L. Ratti, Cherbourg)

Requin (1st class coast defense battleship) on 24 May 1902 after completing modernization. In addition to a new armament she received triple expansion engines and Niclausse boilers with new funnels. (Photo: Feuille signalétique, Archives Marine BB8-2345)

Requin (1st class coast defense battleship) during World War I with Jaureguiberry behind her. (Photo: Shipscribe)