French ironclad Jemmapes

Ordered on 18 December 1889 from Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire of Saint-Nazaire and Saint-Denis, Jemmapes was laid down on 26 December, and launched on 27 April 1892.^[4] The vessel cost £525,000.^[5] The ship's machinery was fully installed on 3 July 1893 and the vessel was moved to Brest on 24 December. Initially commissioned for trials on 19 January 1884, Jemmapes had to wait until her machinery was accepted on 31 January the following year before being fully commissioned on 4 March. She joined the Northern Squadron (Esadre du Nord) of the French Navy 12 days later.^[4] On 12 March, as part of the naval budget debate, Vice Admiral Armand Bernard declared that the squadron, which included three other ships alongside Jemmapes, was "the most homogenous and dangerous squadron that one could meet at sea".^[6] They were considered more than equal to their smaller German contemporaries, the Odin class and Siegfried class.^[7]

Jemmapes had a generally uneventful career. Between 1 and 23 July 1895, the vessel took part in a large naval exercise in the Atlantic Ocean as part of the Northern Squadron.^[8] The manoeuvres included a forced landing at Quiberon and a mock blockade and attack on Cherbourg and Rochefort. The vessel served as part of the defending force, which was successful in resisting the attack.^[9] The ship also took part in the maneuvers the following year, conducted from 6 to 26 July in conjunction with the local defense forces of Brest, Rochefort, Cherbourg, and Lorient. The squadron was divided into three divisions for the maneuvers, and Jemmapes was assigned to the 2nd Division along with her sister ship Valmy, the cruiser Chasseloup-Laubat and the aviso Salve, which represented part of the defending French squadron.^[10] In 1898, the vessel was based at Toulon as part of a Reserve Fleet.^[11]

At the end of the century, the vessel was part of the Coastal Defence Division alongside the ironclads Amiral Tréhouart, Bouvines and Valmy.^[12] The four ships of the division were transferred to the Mediterranean to support the Mediterranean Squadron.^[13] The combined fleet arrived on 5 July 1900 in Quiberon Bay for exercises against the Northern Squadron.^[14] Prior to the exercise, Jemmapes suffered from boiler troubles but these did not hinder the exercise. This was followed, on 19 July, by a fleet review in front of Émile Loubet, the President of France.^[15] In 1902, the ship joined the Northern Squadron as part of an exercise in the Mediterranean.^[16] On 7 July, the squadron left its moorings off Lisbon and simulated an assault on the Mediterranean Squadron, which included a simulated on attack on Tunis on 29 July.^[17] During the exercise, on 31 July, Jemmapes required underway replenishment and coal was ferried across from the other battleships' bunkers by boats. The operation took two and a half hours.^[18] On 15 September, the submarine Espadon successfully conducted a torpedo attack on the ship while submerged during an exercise simulating a blockade of Cherbourg.^[19] On 16 October, the vessel then undertook more manoeuvres with French submarines off the coast of Barfleur, but this time the ship was able to make sufficient speed to avoid being attacked.^[20]

Meanwhile, French naval doctrine was changing and the focus on coastal defense was being replaced by one of larger sea-going warships. The size of ships was also increasing, and newer, more capable battleships entered service.^[21] Jemmapes was briefly decommissioned.^[22] Following repairs, the ship continued to operate successfully during trials in the following year.^[23] The ship was transferred to reserve at Cherbourg, returning to service at Brest on 20 September 1909 for just over two months before being briefly transferred to Rochefort on 9 December. The vessel was decommissioned at Rochefort on 22 March 1910 and struck on 3 August. Jemmapes served as a hulk for more than a decade until she was sold to Société Goldenberg on 5 November 1927 to be broken up.^[4]

• Brassey, Thomas, ed. (1897). "Part II: British and Foreign Armoured and Unarmoured Ships". The Naval Annual 1897. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 227–335. OCLC 1342523853.
• Brassey, Thomas A. (1899). "Chapter III: Relative Strength". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 70–80. OCLC 496786828.
• Brassey, Thomas A. (1903). "Chapter III: Relative Strength". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 57–68. OCLC 496786828.
• Barry, E. B. (1896). "VII. Naval Manoeuvres of 1895". Notes on the Year's Naval Progress. General Information Series. Washington: Government Printing Office. pp. 163–214.
• Campbell, N. J. M. (1979). "France". In Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M. (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 282–333. ISBN 978-0-85177-133-5.
• Garbett, H., ed. (October 1902). "Naval Notes: France". Journal of the Royal United Service Institution. XLVI (296). London: J. J. Keliher & Co.: 1345–1349. OCLC 8007941.
• Garbett, H., ed. (November 1902). "The French Naval Manoeuvres of 1902". Journal of the Royal United Service Institution. XLVI (297). London: J. J. Keliher & Co.: 1436–1456. OCLC 8007941.
• Garbett, H., ed. (October 1903). "Naval Notes: France". Journal of the Royal United Service Institution. XLVII (308). London: J. J. Keliher & Co.: 1185–1190. OCLC 1077860366.
• Leyland, John (1901a). "Chapter III: The Progress of Foreign Navies". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: Clowes: 33–70. OCLC 271433635.
• Leyland, John (1901b). "Chapter IV: Comparative Strength". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: Clowes: 74–89. OCLC 271433635.
• "Naval Notes: France". Journal of the Royal United Service Institution. XLII (249). London: J. J. Keliher & Co.: 1392–1396 November 1898. OCLC 1077860366.
• Paloczi-Horvath, George (1996). From Monitor to Missile Boat: Coast Defence Ships and Coastal Defence Since 1860. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-270-4.
• Roberts, Stephen (2021). French Warships in the Age of Steam 1859–1914. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5267-4533-0.
• Roche, Camille (1898). "Les machines marines à triple expansion. Machines de l'Amiral-Tréhouart, du Jemmapes et du Valmy" [Marine triple expansion engines: Engines of the Amiral-Tréhouart, Jemmapes and Valmy]. Revue de Mécanique (in French): 162.
• Thursfield, J. R. (1897). Brassey, Thomas A. (ed.). "Naval Manoeuvres in 1896". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 140–188. OCLC 496786828.