:Colbert-class ironclad

The Colbert-class ships were designed by Constructor Sabattier as improved versions of the ironclad {{ship|French ironclad|Richelieu||2}} and were the last ships authorized by the 1857 Naval Program. They reverted to a single propeller shaft to improve their sailing qualities and to lessen the chance of the propellers being fouled by fallen rigging.Gille, p. 35 As central battery ironclads, they had their armament concentrated amidships.Silverstone, p. 65 Like most ironclads of their era, they were equipped with a plough-shaped ram. The ships' crew numbered 774 officers and men. Their metacentric height was low, a little above {{convert|2|ft|m|1|order=flip|sp=us}}.Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 289

The ships measured {{convert|101.1|-|102.1|m|ftin|sp=us}} overall, with a beam of {{convert|17.57|-|17.7|m|ftin|sp=us}}. They had maximum drafts of {{convert|8.11|-|8.58|m|ftin|sp=us}} and displaced {{convert|8617|-|8814|t|LT|sp=us}}.Gille, p. 37

While the exact reason for such prolonged construction time is not known, it is believed that reduction of the French Navy's budget after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71 and out-of-date work practices in French dockyards were likely causes.Ropp, pp. 31, 55–58

The Colbert class had a single Wolf three-cylinder horizontal return connecting-rod compound steam engine that drove one propeller. The engine was powered by eight oval boilers and was designed for a capacity of {{convert|4600|ihp|PS kW|lk=in|order=flip}}. On sea trials the engines produced {{convert|4652|-|4882|PS}} and the ships reached speeds of {{convert|14.18|-|14.47|kn|lk=in}}.Gille, p. 36 The ships carried a maximum of {{convert|620|MT|LT}} of coal which allowed them to steam for approximately {{convert|3300|nmi|lk=in}} at a speed of {{convert|10|kn}}. They were ship rigged with three masts and had a sail area around {{convert|23000|sqft|sqm|sp=us|order=flip}}.

File:Canon de 27 cm modèle 1870 IMG 7015.JPG

The Colberts had two {{convert|274|mm|in|adj=on|sp=us|1}} guns mounted in barbettes on the upper deck, one gun at the forward corners of the battery, with six additional guns on the battery deck below the barbettes. The side of the upper deck were cut away to improve the ability of the barbette guns to bear fore and aft. One {{convert|240|mm|in|adj=on|sp=us}} gun was mounted in the forecastle as a chase gun. The ship's secondary armament consisted of six {{convert|138|mm|in|adj=on|sp=us}} guns, four forward of the battery and two aft. These latter two guns were replaced in 1878 by another 240-millimeter gun as a stern chaser. The ship also mounted four above-water {{convert|356|mm|in|adj=on|sp=us}} torpedo tubes.de Balincourt and Vincent-Bréchignac, pp. 28–29

File:Canon de 27 cm modèle 1870 IMG 7012.JPG

All of the guns could fire both solid shot and explosive shells. The 18-caliber 274-millimeter Modèle 1870 gun fired an armor-piercing, {{convert|476.2|lb|kg|1|adj=on|order=flip|sp=us}} shell while the gun itself weighed {{convert|22.84|LT|t|order=flip|sp=us}}. The gun fired its shell at a muzzle velocity of {{convert|1424|ft/s|m/s|abbr=on|order=flip|sp=us}} and was credited with the ability to penetrate {{convert|14.3|in|order=flip|sp=us}} of wrought iron armor at the muzzle. The armor-piercing shell of the 19-caliber 240-millmeter Modèle 1870 gun weighed {{convert|317.5|lb|kg|1|order=flip|sp=us}} while the gun itself weighed {{convert|15.41|LT|t|order=flip|sp=us}}. It had a muzzle velocity of {{convert|1624|ft/s|m/s|abbr=on|order=flip}} and could penetrate {{convert|14.4|in|mm|0|order=flip|sp=us}} of wrought iron armor at the muzzle. The 138-millimeter gun was 21 calibers long and weighed {{convert|2.63|LT|t|order=flip|sp=us}}. It fired a {{convert|61.7|lb|kg|1|adj=on|sp=us|order=flip}} explosive shell that had a muzzle velocity of {{convert|1529|ft/s|m/s|abbr=on|order=flip}}.Brassey, p. 477

At some point the ship received fourteen to eighteen {{convert|37|mm|in|adj=on|sp=us}} Hotchkiss 5-barrel revolving guns. They fired a shell weighing about {{convert|500|g|lb|abbr=on}} at a muzzle velocity of about {{convert|610|m/s|ft/s|abbr=on}} to a range of about {{convert|3200|m|yd|sp=us}} and had a rate of fire of about 30 rounds per minute.{{cite web|url=http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_1pounder_m1.htm|title=United States of America 1-pdr (0.45 kg) 1.46" (37 mm) Marks 1 through 15|date=15 August 2008|access-date=22 December 2013|publisher=Navweps.com}}

The Colbert-class ships had a complete wrought iron waterline belt that was {{convert|220|mm|in|sp=us|1}} thick amidships and tapered to {{convert|180|mm|in|sp=us|1}} at the stern. It was backed by {{convert|89|mm|in|sp=us|1}} of wood. The sides of the battery itself were armored with {{convert|160|mm|in|sp=us|1}} of wrought iron, backed by {{convert|62|mm|in|sp=us|1}} of wood, and the ends of the battery were closed by transverse armored bulkheads {{convert|120|mm|in|sp=us|1}} thick, backed by {{convert|480|mm|in|sp=us|1}} of wood. The barbettes were unarmored, but the deck was {{convert|15|mm|in|sp=us}} thick.de Balincourt and Vincent-Bréchignac, p. 29

Colbert served as the flagship of the Mediterranean Squadron from 1879 to 1890 when she was placed in reserve. Trident became the flagship of the second-in-command of the squadron in 1879. The sisters bombarded the port of Sfax on 15–16 July 1881 as the French occupied Tunisia, under the command of Vice Admiral Henri Garnault.Wilson, pp. 2–4

Colbert was recommissioned in 1892 before she was disarmed and paid off in 1895. Trident was disarmed and placed in reserve in 1886–89, but was recommissioned in 1889 and resumed her role as flagship until she was again placed in reserve in 1894. The ship served as a gunnery training ship until she was condemned in 1900. She was renamed Var in 1904 and was sold for scrap five years later.Silverstone, p. 114 Colbert was also condemned in 1900 and sold for scrap in 1909.Silverstone, p. 94

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite journal|last=de Balincourt|first=Captain|author2=Vincent-Bréchignac, Captain|year=1975|title=The French Navy of Yesterday: Ironclad Frigates|journal=F.P.D.S. Newsletter|publisher=F.P.D.S.|location=Akron, OH|volume=III|issue=4|pages=26–29|oclc=41554533}}
• {{cite book|last=Brassey|first=Thomas|authorlink=Thomas Brassey, 1st Earl Brassey|title=The Naval Annual 1887|url=https://archive.org/details/brasseysannual00brasgoog|year=1888|publisher=J. Griffin|location=Portsmouth, England|oclc=6000656}}
• {{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905|editor1-last=Chesneau|editor1-first=Roger|editor2-last=Kolesnik|editor2-first=Eugene M.|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=Greenwich, UK|year=1979|isbn=0-8317-0302-4|name-list-style=amp|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_l2e2}}
• {{cite book|last=Gille|first=Eric|title=Cent ans de cuirassés français|publisher=Marines|location=Nantes|year=1999|isbn=2-909675-50-5}}
• {{cite book

|last=Roberts

|first=Stephen

|title=French Warships in the Age of Steam 1859–1914

|year=2021

|location=Barnsley

|publisher=Seaforth

|isbn=978-1-5267-4533-0

|ref={{sfnref|Roberts}}

}}

• {{cite book|last=Ropp|first=Theodore|authorlink=Theodore Ropp|editor-first=Stephen S.|editor-last=Roberts|title=The Development of a Modern Navy: French Naval Policy 1871–1904|year=1987|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=0-87021-141-2}}
• {{cite book|last=Silverstone|first=Paul H.|title=Directory of the World's Capital Ships|year=1984|publisher=Hippocrene Books|location=New York|isbn=0-88254-979-0}}
• {{cite book|last=Wilson|first=H. W.|title=Ironclads in Action: A Sketch of Naval Warfare From 1855 to 1895|url=https://archive.org/details/ironcladsinacti00wilsgoog|volume=2|year=1896|publisher=Little, Brown|location=Boston, Massachusetts|oclc=4848022}}

• {{in lang|fr}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20110720221326/http://dossiersmarine.free.fr/fs_f_F7.html classe Colbert]

{{Colbert class ironclads}}

{{French ironclads}}

Category:Ironclad classes

Category:Ship classes of the French Navy