French ironclad Valmy

Ordered on 18 December 1889 from Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire of Saint-Nazaire and Saint-Denis, Valmy was laid down later that year and launched on 6 October 1892.^[4] The vessel cost £578,957.^[5] The ship's machinery was fully installed on 15 March 1894 and accepted after trials on. Initially commissioned for trials in December 1894, Valmy had to wait until her machinery was accepted on 13 August the following year before being fully commissioned on 14 August. She joined the Northern Squadron (Esadre du Nord) of the French Navy to replace the ironclad Requin.^[4] On 12 March 1895, as part of the naval budget debate, Vice Admiral Armand Bernard declared that Valmy and her three companions formed "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]

Valmy 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 Valmy was assigned to the 2nd Division along with her sister ship Jemmapes, the cruiser Chasseloup-Laubat and the aviso Salve, which represented part of the defending French squadron.^[10] At the end of the century, the vessel was part of the Coastal Defence Division alongside the ironclads Amiral Tréhouart, Bouvines and Jemmapes.^[11]

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.^[12] Valmy was transferred to reserve in 1903, being transferred to Brest between 1 and 2 September 1909. The vessel was ordered to be decommissioned on 11 October 1909 and struck on 1 July the following year. Valmy was sold on 20 July 1911 and broken up.^[4]

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.