French ironclad Dévastation

History
France
Name:	Dévastation
Builder:	Lorient
Laid down:	20 December 1875[1]
Launched:	19 August 1879[1]
Completed:	15 July 1882[1]
Out of service:	1922[2]
Fate:	Scrapped 1923[1]
General characteristics
Class & type:	Dévastation class battleship
Type:	Battleship with central battery and barbettes
Displacement:	9,659 tonnes 10,090 tonnes full load[1]
Length:	95 m (312 ft) between perpendiculars 98.70 m waterline 10.25 m overall[1]
Beam:	21.25 m (69.7 ft)[1]
Draught:	7.51 m (24.6 ft) loaded draught forward 8.10 m loaded draught aft 7.80 m loaded draught amidships[1]
Depth of hold:	7.34 m (24.1 ft)[1]
Installed power:	12 boilers, 2 Woolf triple expansion engines totally 8,000 ihp (6,000 kW)[1]
Propulsion:	twin screw (5.24 m diameter) + sail
Sail plan:	ship rig, sail area 1,833 m²[1]
Speed:	15 kn (28 km/h) at full load (steam)[1]
Range:	3,100 nmi (5,700 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h) (steam)[1]
Complement:	689[2]
Armament:	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 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 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 38cm belt amidships 24cm redoubt 6cm main deck[1]

The Dévastation was an ironclad battleship of the French Navy.

She was used as a school ship for manoeuvres.

Commanding officers of Dévastation

Date	Commanding Officer
6 October 1880	Captain Rallier[1]
18 August 1882	Captain Boucheron de Boissondy[1]
16 December 1882	Captain Olliver[1]
25 December 1884	Captain Dupuis[1]
31 January 1885	Captain Le Bourgeois[1]
11 December 1886	Captain Dieulouard[1]
27 December 1887	Captain Boulineau[1]
26 November 1890	Captain Floucaud de Fourcroy[1]
27 August 1891	Captain Gigon[1]
24 September 1892	Captain Caillard[1]
20 February 1893	Captain Marquis[1]
13 June 1893	Captain Pissere[1]
9 March 1895	Captain Antoine[1]
19 March 1896	Captain Bellue[1]
20 May 1897	Captain Cordier[1]
29 November 1897	Captain Fortin[1]
26 January 1901	Captain Simon (EP)[1]

Flag officers flying their flag in Dévastation

Start	End	Flag Officer
1 August 1882	14 November 1882	Vice-Admiral Thomasset, C-in-C, Reserve Squadron[1]
17 February 1885	17 January 1886	Rear-Admiral Rallier, Evolutionary Squadron[1]
17 January 1886	18 December 1887	Rear-Admiral Devaresse, Evolutionary Squadron[1]
18 December 1887	27 October 1889	Rear-Admiral Alquier, Evolutionary Squadron[1]
15 October 1892	11 March 1893	Rear-Admiral Buge, commanding a division of the E. Mediterranean & Levant Squadron[1]
12 March 1893	17 June 1893	Rear-Admiral Dupont, commanding a division of the E. Mediterranean & Levant Squadron[1]
18 June 1893	14 March 1895	Rear-Admiral Gadaud, commanding a division of the E. Mediterranean & Levant Squadron[1]
14 March 1895	5 May 1896	Rear-Admiral Maigret, commanding a division of the E. Mediterranean & Levant Squadron[1]
5 May 1896	7 February 1897	Rear-Admiral Pottier, commanding a division of the E. Mediterranean & Levant Squadron[1]
20 January 1898	14 March 1898	Rear-Admiral Godin, commanding the Division of the Reserve[1]

Note: Rear-admirals of the Evolutionary Squadron were under the command the vice-admiral of the squadron.

Footnotes

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