French ironclad Bouledogue
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Bouledogue |
| Ordered | 15 January 1865 |
| Builder | Arsenal de Lorient |
| Laid down | 5 December 1865 |
| Launched | 26 March 1872 |
| Completed | January 1874 |
| Stricken | 24 April 1896 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap, 21 March 1897 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Class & type | Bélier-class ironclad ram |
| Displacement | 3,589 t (3,532 long tons) |
| Length | 72 m (236 ft 3 in) (oa) |
| Beam | 16.14 m (52 ft 11 in) |
| Draft | 5.83 m (19 ft 2 in) |
| Installed power | |
| Propulsion | 2 × screws; 2 × return connecting rod engines |
| Speed | 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Range | 1,800 nmi (3,300 km; 2,100 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement | 147 |
| Armament | 2 × 240 mm (9.4 in) guns |
| Armor |
|
Bouledogue was a one of four Bélier-class ironclad rams built for the French Navy during the 1870s. Completed in 1873, she spent most of her career in reserve. The ship accidentally rammed and sank a torpedo boat in 1895 and was sold for scrap two years later.
The Bélier class constituted a reversal of the defensive philosophy that drove the design of the preceding ironclad ram, Taureau, with their emphasis on an offensive role using their guns instead of a ram.[1][2] The ships had an overall length of 72 m (236 ft 3 in), a beam of 16.14 m (52 ft 11 in) and a draft of 5.83 m (19.1 ft). They displaced 3,589 metric tons (3,532 long tons). They were powered by a pair of two-cylinder direct-acting steam engines that used steam provided by six boilers to drive each propeller shaft. The engines were rated at a total of 2,120 indicated horsepower (1,580 kW)[3] that was intended to give the ships a speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph).[4] The ships carried enough coal to give them a range of 1,800 nautical miles (3,300 km; 2,100 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). The ship's complement numbered 147 sailors of all ranks.[3]
Bouledogue was armed with a main battery of two 240 mm (9.4 in) Mle 1870 rifled breech-loading guns in a turret in the bow. The turret sat above a barbette that housed the turret machinery; both had armor 180 mm (7.1 in) thick. The ships were protected by a full-length waterline belt of wrought iron that was 220 mm (8.7 in) thick. The deck armor was 20 mm (0.8 in) thick in Bouledogue.[3][4]