French ironclad Colbert

The Colbert-class ships were designed by Constructor Sabattier as improved versions of the ironclad {{ship|French ironclad|Richelieu||2}}. As a central battery ironclad, Colbert had her armament concentrated amidships. Like most ironclads of her era she was equipped with a plough-shaped ram. Her crew numbered 774 officers and men. The metacentric height of the ship was low, a little above {{convert|2|ft|m|1}}.Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 289

The ship measured {{convert|101.1|m|ftin|sp=us}} overall, with a beam of {{convert|17.4|m|ftin|sp=us}}. Colbert had a maximum draft of {{convert|8.5|m|ftin|sp=us}}Silverstone, p. 65 and displaced {{convert|8617|t|LT|sp=us}}.

Colbert reverted to a single propeller shaft to improve her sailing qualities. She had one Wolf 3-cylinder horizontal return connecting rod compound steam engine. The engine was powered by eight oval boilers and was designed for a capacity of {{convert|4600|ihp|lk=in}}. On sea trials the engine produced {{convert|4652|ihp}} and Colbert reached {{convert|14.75|kn|lk=in}}.de Balincourt and Vincent-Bréchignac, p. 28 She carried a maximum of {{convert|620|MT|LT}} of coal which allowed her to steam for approximately {{convert|3300|nmi|lk=in}} at a speed of {{convert|10|kn}}. Colbert was ship rigged with three masts and had a sail area around {{convert|23000|sqft|sqm|sp=us|disp=flip}}.

Colbert 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}} 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 ship's guns could fire both solid shot and explosive shells. The 274-millimeter Modèle 1870 gun was credited with the ability to penetrate a maximum of {{convert|14.3|in}} of wrought iron armor while the 240-millmeter Modèle 1870 gun could penetrate {{convert|14.4|in|mm|0}} of armor.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. The gun had a range of about {{convert|3200|m|yd|sp=us}} and 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=14 January 2011|access-date=14 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 was named in honor of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Controller-General of Finances from 1665 to 1683 under King Louis XIV. She was laid down at Brest on 4 July 1870 and launched on 16 September 1875.Silverstone, p. 95 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 ship began her sea trials on 23 May 1877, but became flagship of the Reserve Squadron on 31 August 1878. On 1 October 1879 she became the flagship of the Mediterranean Squadron; which post she would hold until 14 January 1890 when she was placed in reserve. Colbert bombarded the Tunisian port of Sfax on 15–16 July 1881 as the French occupied Tunisia.Wilson, pp. 2–4

In May 1887, Colbert took part in exercises to practice convoy escort; the French Army kept significant forces in French North Africa, and these units would have to be transported back to Europe in the event of a major conflict. The ship was assigned to escort a convoy of four simulated troop ships, along with the ironclads {{ship|French ironclad|Courbet||2}}, {{ship|French ironclad|Amiral Duperré||2}}, and {{ship|French ironclad|Indomptable||2}}. A squadron of cruisers and torpedo boats was tasked with intercepting the convoy. The convoy used bad weather to make the passage, as heavy seas kept the torpedo boats from going to sea.Brassey, pp. 225–231

She became flagship of the Reserve Squadron again on 12 April 1892 until she was disarmed and paid off in 1895. She was condemned on 11 August 1900, before being sold for scrap in 1909.

{{Reflist|2}}

• {{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=2-909-675-50-5}}
• {{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|volume=2|year=1896|publisher=Little, Brown|location=Boston, Massachusetts|oclc=4848022}}

• {{Commons category-inline|Colbert (ship, 1875)}}
• {{in lang|fr}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20110720221326/http://dossiersmarine.free.fr/fs_f_F7.html classe Colbert]

{{Colbert class ironclads}}

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Category:Colbert-class ironclads

Category:Ships built in France

Category:1875 ships