French ironclad Fulminant

Fulminant in 1894
History
France
NameFulminant
BuilderNaval shipyard, Cherbourg
Laid down24 February 1874
Launched20 August 1877
CommissionedJanuary 1881
Stricken14 March 1903
FateSold to be broken up on 21 December 1912
General characteristics
Class & typeTonnerre-class coastal defense ship
Displacement5,588 t (5,500 long tons)
Length78.6 m (257 ft 10 in) (o/a)
Beam17.6 m (57 ft 9 in)
Draft6.421 m (21 ft 0.8 in) (mean)
Installed power
Propulsion1 shaft, 1 compound steam engine
Speed14 kn (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Range2,070 nmi (3,830 km; 2,380 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement190
Armament
  • 1 × twin 274.2 mm (11 in) guns
  • 4 × single 100 mm (4 in) guns
Armor
  • Belt: 250–330 mm (9.8–13.0 in)
  • Deck: 50–120 mm (2–5 in)
  • Breastwork: 300–333 mm (11.8–13.1 in)
  • Turrets: 300 mm (11.8 in)

Fulminant was the second of the two ships of the Tonnerre-class, coastal defense breastwork monitors built for the French Navy (Marine Nationale) in the 1870s. Launched in 1877, the ship was armed with a main armament of two 274.4 mm (10.8 in) Modèle 1875 guns mounted in a single turret that had armor 300 mm (12 in) thick. In 1887, the vessel was damaged near Brest while sailing between Cherbourg and Toulon, but was swiftly repaired. From 1891, the ship served in the Northern Squadron (Esadre du Nord}. As French naval doctrine moved from a fleet of smaller coastal defense ships to larger ocean-going battleships, the ship had a short active career. The warship was struck in 1908 and served as a target for the ships of the Mediterranean Squadron (Esadre du Meditérranée). Sunk and raised in 1911, Fulminant was sold a year later and broken up.