Tonnerre-class ironclad

The Tonnerre class was a group of two coastal-defense ships built for the French Navy in the 1870s. A design based on the preceding Bélier-class ram but with similarities to the Royal Navy breastwork monitor Glatton, the class comprised Tonnerre and Fulminant. Their main battery of two 274.4 mm (11 in) was mounted in a single turret powered by a hydraulic machinery, an early use of the technology, that was situated forward of a narrow superstructure and was. The ships could be distinguished by their different engines, the diameter of their single funnel and the slightly different calibre of their secondary armament. They were commissioned into the Armored Division (Division cuirassé) of the Northern Squadron (Esadre du Nord) in 1891. They participated in naval exercises. Changes in naval doctrine, alongside the introduction of more capable battleships and new technologies like submarines meant that the ships were obsolete. Tonnerre and Fulminant were struck in 1902 and 1905 respectively and, after serving as target ships, sold to the broken up.