French ironclad Vengeur


Vengeur was the second of two coastal defence ships served in the French Navy in the nineteenth century. Launched in 1878, the vessel was armed with two mounted in a single turret that was protected with armor that was thick as well as having an armored Belt between thick. The ship had a generally uneventful career, spending most of her career in reserve, except a year as part of the Escadre d'evolutions between 1884 and 1885, where she served alongside the faster and deeper-draft ironclad, and 1889, where she participated in a military exercise, successfully defending Cherbourg alongside fellow ironclad. In 1906, the ship was struck and sold to be broken up.

Design and description

'The coastal defense ships were developed as a shallower-draught and slower complement to the s. Designed by the Naval architects Louis de Bussy to a specification issued on 10 November 1871 and inspired by the breastwork monitor, the class consisted of two vessels. Vengeur was the second of the class. The design was approved by the Minister of the Navy, Louis Pierre Alexis Pothuau, on 19 August 1872. The vessel was considered to be a coast guard vessel.
The Tempête-class coast-defense ships had a length of overall, at the waterline and between perpendiculars. Beam was and mean draft was. Vengeur displaced at deep load. The ship's complement numbered 174 of all ranks.
Power for Vengeur was provided by three two-cylinder, horizontal compound-expansion steam engines that drove one propeller shaft using steam provided by four high return flame Indret cylindrical marine boilers. The engine was designed by Joseph Joessel. It vented through a single funnel, cited forward of the single mast. Rated at at a boiler pressure of, it was intended to give the ships a top speed of. The ship carried of coal. Vengeur achieved in trials and was rated at in service.
Vengeur was originally designed to be primarily armed with a ram, but the addition of turret-mounted guns offered greater capability with increased complexity and cost. As built, the ship carried a main battery of two 18 calibre Modèle 1875 guns in a single twin turret with a secondary armament of four guns. In 1900, the latter was replaced by six single guns and six single guns, positioned on the hurricane deck. The ship was also equipped with three searchlights.
Vengeur had a full-length waterline armour belt that tapered from the maximum thickness of amidships to forward and aft. The belt was designed to stretch from below the waterline to above, but, in service, it ranged from below the waterline to above. This was complemented by a breastwork that was equipped with armour that was thick forward and thick in the middle. The turret armour was thick, the turret being surmounted by a cylindrical conning tower that had armour in thickness. The deck armour was thick amidships while the ends were armoured by a combination of iron on of teak.

Construction and career

Ordered in January 1874 from the arsenal at Brest, Vengeur was laid down on 8 December, and launched at the shipyard in the city on 16 May 1878. The ship's machinery was installed between 11 April and December 1882. Initially commissioned for trials on 15 January 1882 and fully commissioned on 30 May that year, the vessel had a generally uneventful career. Having been moved to Toulon from Brest, Vengeur arrived on 11 July and was placed in reserve before joining the Escadre d'evolutions at Toulon in 1884. The ship served alongside the ironclad. On 14 April, the vessel was travelling between Toulon and Villefranche along a battle squadron that included nine ironclads, two avisos and two torpedo boats when the flotilla was struck by a storm. Tonnerre, Vengeur and the avisos were incapable of completing the journey and had to return to base, with two of the boats aboard Vengeur damaged by the waves.
After serving with the squadron until 25 March 1885, the vessel was moved to Cherbourg to be placed back in reserve. On 17 June 1889, the recommissioned vessel and joined a military exercise off the north coast of France. Vengeur, along with fellow coastal defense ship and a flotilla of smaller ships including torpedo boats, formed a force under Rear admiral tasked with defending Cherbourg. On 2 July, the defending fleet engaged with a more powerful attacking force of ironclads from the Channel Squadron, although the larger ships remained at a distance while the torpedo boats attacked. Two days later, when the attackers returned, Tonnant and Vengeur responded with heavy fire. The attackers were repelled and sailed away. The vessel returned to reserve. Struck on 20 June 1906, the ship was sold by the end of the year while still at Cherbourg to be broken up.