French Ironclad Normandie

The French ironclad ''Normandie'' was the third and last of the three wooden-hulled s built for the French Navy in 1858–62. The ships of the ''Gloire'' class were classified as armoured frigates because they only had a single gun deck and their traditional disposition of guns arrayed along the length of the hull also meant that they were broadside ironclads. ''Normandie'' was the first ironclad to cross the Atlantic in support of the French intervention in Mexico in 1862. Although the ship was active during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, she saw no action. The unseasoned timber of her hull rotted quickly; she was condemned in 1871 and subsequently scrapped.

Design and description

Designed by the French naval architect Henri Dupuy de Lôme, the ships of the class were intended to fight in the line of battle, unlike the first British ironclads. The ship was long,Gille, p. 23 with a beam of . ''Normandie'' had a maximum draft of ,Campbell, p. 286 a depth of hold of and displaced . The ships of the class had a high metacentric height of and consequently rolled badly. With their gun ports only above the waterline, they proved to be very wet.

''Normandie'' had a single horizontal return connecting-rod compound steam engine that drove one propeller. The engine was powered by eight Indret oval boilers and was designed for a capacity of . She carried a maximum of of coal which allowed her to steam for at a speed of .de Balincourt & Vincent-Bréchignac, Part I, p. 14 The ''Gloire''-class ships were initially fitted with a light barquentine rig with three masts that had a sail area around . This was later changed to a full ship rig of , but later had to be reduced because excessive rolling.

The ''Gloire''-class ships were armed with 36 Modèle 1858 broadside. The remaining two guns were placed on the upper deck as chase guns. They fired a shell at a muzzle velocity of only and proved to be ineffective against armour. They were replaced by rifled breech-loading Modèle 1864 guns in 1868. Six guns were mounted in the centre of the gun deck and a pair of guns replaced the original chase guns.

''Normandie''s wooden hull was completely armoured with wrought iron plates thick. Backed by the sides of the hull, the armour extended above the waterline and below. The ''Gloire''-class ships had an open-topped conning tower with armour thick and of armour underneath the wooden upper deck.

Construction and service

Named after the province of Normandy, ''Normandie'' was ordered around September 1858, six months after her sisters. The ship was laid down at the Arsenal de Cherbourg on 14 September 1858, launched on 10 March 1860 and completed on 13 May 1862. In July 1862, ''Normandie'' became the first ironclad to cross the Atlantic, as the flagship of Vice Admiral Edmond Jurien de La Gravière, on her way to support the French intervention in Mexico. She was forced to return in April 1863 due to an outbreak of yellow fever that killed her captain, among others.de Balincourt & Vincent-Bréchignac, Part II, p. 23 While assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet, the ship made a port visit in August 1865 to Brest where the fleet hosted the British Channel Fleet. A few days later the French fleet made a reciprocal visit to Portsmouth where it was hosted by the Channel Fleet.Jones, pp. 35, 37 From 1865 to 1868, ''Normandie'' was assigned to the Evolutionary Squadron where she was commanded by Bernard Jauréguiberry, among others. The ship was assigned to the ironclad squadron commanded by Rear Admiral Didelot during the Franco-Prussian War, but saw no action. Built of unseasoned timber, ''Normandie'' was in poor shape after the war and was decommissioned on 17 June 1871. Condemned on 1 August, the ship was subsequently broken up and her engine was installed in the breastwork monitor .

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Normandie
1860 ships
Ships built in France
Second French intervention in Mexico
Gloire-class ironclads