French ironclad Tempête
Tempête fitting out c. 1878, behind her is the ironclad Redoutable | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| France | |
| Name | Tempête |
| Namesake | Tempest |
| Ordered | 26 December 1872 |
| Builder | Arsenal de Brest |
| Cost | FF6,430,000 |
| Laid down | 26 December 1872 |
| Launched | 18 August 1876 |
| Commissioned | 4 July 1883 |
| Decommissioned | 15 February 1906 |
| Stricken | 26 April 1907 |
| Nickname(s) | Le fer à repasser (flatiron) |
| Fate | Sunk as a target ship, 20 March 1909 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Coastal-defense ship |
| Displacement | 4,908 t (4,830 long tons) (deep load) |
| Length | 73.6 m (241 ft 6 in) (o/a) |
| Beam | 17.6 m (57 ft 9 in) |
| Draft | 5.42 m (17.8 ft) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion | 1 shaft, 1 compound-expansion steam engine |
| Speed | 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Range | 1,103 nautical miles (2,043 km; 1,269 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) |
| Complement | 7 officers, 165 enlisted men |
| Armament |
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| Armor |
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Tempête was the lead ship for her class of two ironclad coast-defense ships built for the French Navy (Marine Nationale) in the 1870s. Even though the ship was not fully commissioned until 1883, she played a minor role in the French occupation of Tunisia in 1881. Tempête accidentally sank a torpedo boat during night maneuvers in 1892 and was placed in reserve later that year. She became the flagship of the local defenses in French Tunisia in 1897 and was decommissioned in 1907. The ironclad served as a target ship for the next several years until she was sunk in 1909. Her wreck was salvaged beginning in 1912, but it was not completed until 1959.