Marceau class battleship
Encyclopedia
The Marceau class was class of ironclad battleship
s of the French Navy
. They were the last barbette
ships built in France.
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s of the French Navy
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
. They were the last barbette
Barbette
A barbette is a protective circular armour feature around a cannon or heavy artillery gun. The name comes from the French phrase en barbette referring to the practice of firing a field gun over a parapet rather than through an opening . The former gives better angles of fire but less protection...
ships built in France.
- MarceauFrench battleship Marceau (1887)The Marceau was an ironclad battleship of the French Navy, lead ship of her class.She served in the Mediterranean Squadron until 1900, when she was rebuilt. She returned to service in 1906 as a school ship for torpedo warfare....
- Builder: La Seyne-sur-MerLa Seyne-sur-MerLa Seyne-sur-Mer, or La Seyne is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It is part of the agglomeration of Toulon, and is situated adjacent to the west of this city.-Economy:...
- Ordered: 27 December 1880
- Launched: 24 May 1887
- Fate: Broken up in 1922
- MagentaFrench battleship Magenta (1890)The Magenta was an ironclad battleship of the French Navy. The ship underwent significant changes during her construction phase including three different sets of main guns and increases in length and width. Like her sister ships she suffered from an over-large unarmoured superstructure that in...
- Builder: ToulonToulonToulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
- Ordered: 7 October 1880
- Launched:19 April 1890
- Fate: Broken up in 1911
- NeptuneFrench battleship Neptune (1887)The Neptune was an ironclad battleship of the French Navy.She served in the Mediterranean squadron until 1898, when she was used as a school ship, and as a hulk from February 1908.She was eventually sunk as target off Cherbourg.-External links:*...
- Builder: BrestBrest, FranceBrest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
- Ordered: 7 October 1880
- Launched: 7 May 1887
- Fate: Sunk as target ship in 1913