Colbert-class ironclad

Colbert at anchor

The Colbert class were a pair of armored frigates built for the French Navy during the 1870s. The ships served as the flagships of the commander and deputy commander of the Mediterranean Squadron for most of their careers. The sister ships took part in the French conquest of Tunisia, notably shelling and landing troops in Sfax in 1881. They were relegated to second-line roles in 1894–95 before being condemned in 1900. The ships were finally sold for scrap in 1909.

Design and description

The Colbert-class ships were designed by Constructor Sabattier as improved versions of the ironclad 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. As central battery ironclads, they had their armament concentrated amidships. 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 .

The ships measured overall, with a beam of . They had maximum drafts of and displaced .

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is not known, it is believed that reduction of the French Navy's budget after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71 and out-of-date work practices in French dockyards were likely causes.

Propulsion

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 . On sea trials the engines produced and the ships reached speeds of . The ships carried a maximum of of coal which allowed them to steam for approximately at a speed of . They were ship rigged with three masts and had a sail area around .

Armament

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

Mounting of the Canon de 27 cm modèle 1870.

The Colberts had two 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 gun was mounted in the forecastle as a chase gun. The ship's secondary armament consisted of six 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 torpedo tubes.

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

Canon de 27 cm modèle 1870 in the armoured section of a Colbert class ironclad, by Gustave Bourgain, circa 1885.

All of the guns could fire both solid shot and explosive shells. The 18-caliber 274-millimeter Modèle 1870 gun fired an armor-piercing, shell while the gun itself weighed . The gun fired its shell at a muzzle velocity of and was credited with the ability to penetrate of wrought iron armor at the muzzle. The armor-piercing shell of the 19-caliber 240-millmeter Modèle 1870 gun weighed while the gun itself weighed . It had a muzzle velocity of and could penetrate of wrought iron armor at the muzzle. The 138-millimeter gun was 21 calibers long and weighed . It fired a explosive shell that had a muzzle velocity of .

At some point the ship received fourteen to eighteen Hotchkiss 5-barrel revolving guns. They fired a shell weighing about at a muzzle velocity of about to a range of about and had a rate of fire of about 30 rounds per minute.

Armor

The Colbert-class ships had a complete wrought iron waterline belt that was thick amidships and tapered to at the stern. It was backed by of wood. The sides of the battery itself were armored with of wrought iron, backed by of wood, and the ends of the battery were closed by transverse armored bulkheads thick, backed by of wood. The barbettes were unarmored, but the deck was thick.

Ships

Ship	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Completed
	Arsenal de Brest, Brest	4 July 1870	16 September 1875	30 June 1877
	Arsenal de Toulon, Toulon	April 1870	9 November 1876	18 November 1878

Service

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.

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. Colbert was also condemned in 1900 and sold for scrap in 1909.

External links

• Template:In lang classe Colbert