Dévastation-class ironclad

Dévastation
Class overview
Name:	Dévastation class
Operators:	French Navy
Built:	1875-1886
In commission:	1882-1922
Completed:	2
Scrapped:	2
General characteristics
Type:	Battleship with central battery and barbettes
Displacement:	9,659 tonnes  standard 10,090 tonnes  full load[1]
Length:	100.25 m (328 ft 11 in) o/a 95 m (311 ft 8 in) p/p 98.70 m (323 ft 10 in) w/l[1]
Beam:	21.25 m (69 ft 9 in)[1]
Draught:	7.51 m (24 ft 8 in) loaded draught forward 7.80 m (25 ft 7 in) 7.80 m loaded draught amidships 8.10 m (26 ft 7 in) 8.10 m loaded draught aft[1]
Depth of hold:	7.34 m (24 ft 1 in)[1]
Installed power:	12 boilers, 2 Woolf triple expansion engines totalling 8,000 ihp (6,000 kW)[1]
Propulsion:	Twin screws (5.24 m diameter) + sail
Sail plan:	Ship rig Sail area 1,833 m^2 (19,730 sq ft)[1]
Speed:	15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) at full load (steam)[1]
Range:	3,100 nmi (5,700 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h) (steam)[1]
Complement:	689[2]
Armament:	Dévastation as built: 4 × 34cm/18 model 1875 4 × 27cm/18 model 1870M 6 × 14cm model 1870M 18 × 37mm Hotchkiss revolving cannon 4 × 14in torpedo tubes Dévastation state in May 1896: 4 × 320mm/25 model 1870-81 4 × 274.4mm model 1875 6 × 138.6mm 2 × 65mm 6 × 47mm QF 20 × 37mm QF 2 × 14in torpedo tubes Dévastation after March 1902 refit: 4 × 274.4mm model 1893 2 × 240mm/40 model 1893/96 10 × 100mm model 1891 and 1892 14 × 47mm QF 2 × 37mm QF[1][2]
Armour:	Wrought iron 38 cm (1 ft 3 in) belt amidships 24 cm (9.4 in) redoubt 6 cm (2.4 in) main deck[1]

The French Dévastation class ironclad battleships were laid down as part of the 1872 programme. They were a development of the Redoutable (1876).^[1] The class consisted of:

• Dévastation (1879)
• Courbet (1882)

References

1. Saibène, Marc, Les Cuirasses Redoutable, Dévastation, Courbet, Programme de 1872, pub Marine Édition, ISBN 2-909675-16-5
2. Chesnau, Roger and Kolesnik, Eugene (Ed.) Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1860-1905. Conway Maritime Press, 1979. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4