French 2nd Class Cruisers, 1859-1882: Photo Gallery
In fleet lists as Corvettes 1859, to Corvettes à barbette 1862, Croiseurs de 2e classe 1874, and Croiseurs à barbette 1880.
New/old to Croiseurs de 1re/2e classe 1885, croiseurs de station de 1er/2e classe 1891, and Croiseurs de 2e/3e classe 1892.
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Decrès (1862), Desaix (1866), and Châteaurenault (1866) classes
Decrès
Decrès (French 2nd class cruiser, wood hull) at Rochefort circa 1890. (Photo: Private digital collection and Wikimedia from SHD Rochefort MR-5-G-163)
Desaix, ex Cassard
Desaix (French 2nd class cruiser, wood hull). (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-74967 from ONI album of French warships)
Châteaurenault
Châteaurenault (French 2nd class cruiser, wood hull) coaling ship. (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-74981 from ONI album of French warships)
Infernet class (1867)
Champlain
Champlain (French 2nd class cruiser, wood hull). (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-74815 from ONI album of French warships)
Champlain
Champlain (French 2nd class cruiser). This photo of an unidentified French ship anchored in San Francisco Bay was marked 1894 in pencil. The only ship of this type on the Pacific Station at that time was Champlain. She looks much like she did earlier except that she has lost her bowsprit and her bridge wings have been enclosed. (Photo: Private digital collection)
La Clocheterie
La Clocheterie (French 2nd class cruiser). She was the only one of the class with a clipper bow. (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-74998 from ONI album of French warships)
Dupetit-Thouars
Dupetit-Thouars (French 2nd class cruiser) at Rochefort in 1896. (Photo: Private digital collection and Wikimedia from SHD Rochefort MR-5-G-172)
Sané class (1868)
Sané
Sané (French 2nd class cruiser, wood hull). (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-74988 from ONI album of French warships)
Sané
Sané (French 2nd class cruiser) in 1911 as Ponton No. 1, a coal and torpedo calibration hulk at Brest. Behind her are the school hulk Dévastation and a new armored cruiser. (Photo: BNF btv1b53111535h)
Seignelay
Seignelay (French 2nd class cruiser) at Toulon. (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-74991 from ONI album of French warships)
Duguay-Trouin class (1873)
Duguay-Trouin
Duguay-Trouin (French 2nd class cruiser, iron hull) with original boilers at Algiers. (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-66071, Farenholt Collection)
Duguay-Trouin
Duguay-Trouin (French 2nd class cruiser) with original boilers with a Colbert and a Ocean class battleship in the left background. (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-74892 from ONI album of French warships)
Duguay-Trouin
Duguay-Trouin (French 2nd class cruiser) with new boilers. (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-00034, courtesy RADM Ammen Farenholt, USN)
Duguay-Trouin
Duguay-Trouin (French 2nd class cruiser) with new boilers at Lyttleton in January 1894. (Photo: Private digital collection)
Villars class (1873)
Forfait
Forfait (French 2nd class cruiser, wood hull). (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-66074, Farenholt Collection)
Forfait
Forfait (French 2nd class cruiser) on the Charente in 1896. (Photo: Private digital collection and Wikimedia from SHD Rochefort MR-5-G-403)
Magon
Magon (French 2nd class cruiser). (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-74809 from ONI album of French warships)
Roland
Roland (French 2nd class cruiser). (Photo: USN NHHC Photo Archive NH-74997 from ONI album of French warships)
Roland
Roland (French 2nd class cruiser) at Rochefort in 1892. (Photo: Private digital collection and Wikimedia from SHD Rochefort MR-5-G-755)
Lapérouse class (1875)
D'Estaing
D'Estaing (French 2nd class cruiser, wood hull) on the ways at Brest in the main arsenal. (Photo: Wikimedia from Archives M&M Brest 2Fi06404)
D'Estaing
D'Estaing (French 2nd class cruiser) ready for launching at Brest in the main arsenal. (Photo: Wikimedia from Archives M&M Brest 2Fi06405)
D'Estaing
D'Estaing (French 2nd class cruiser) on the Charente in 1894. (Photo: Private digital collection and Wikimedia from SHD Rochefort MR-5-G-322)
Nielly
Nielly (French 2nd class cruiser) on the ways at Brest with flags ready for launching. She is on one of the cales (shipways) de la Boucherie that were built in the 1830s in an upriver extension of the arsenal that was fortified in 1777. (Photo: Wikimedia from Archives M&M Brest 2Fi06381)
Nielly
The bow of Nielly (French 2nd class cruiser) on the ways at Brest. (Photo: Wikimedia from Archives M&M Brest 2Fi06375)
Nielly
Nielly (French 2nd class cruiser) with flags ready for launching on one of the cales de la Boucherie in the upriver portion of the Brest dockyard. Alongside her is a shiphouse for Amiral Baudin, also on a cale de la Boucherie and one for Terrible on a cale du Bocage. Also visible are Bretagne (i) in the foreground in the early stages of dismantlement, the prison hulk Veilleur ex Duquesne, and the barbette covers on the recently launched Bayard. The building beyond the arsenal wall is the Bouguen prison. (Photo: Wikimedia from Archives M&M Brest 2Fi06383)
Nielly
Nielly (French 2nd class cruiser). (Photo: Private digital collection)
Primauguet
Primauguet (French 2nd class cruiser). (Photo: Private digital collection)
Primauguet
Primauguet (French 2nd class cruiser) at Rochefort in 1886. She is alongside one of six former frigates then in use in the Charente as mooring hulks. (Photo: Private digital collection and Wikimedia from SHD Rochefort MR-5-G-720)