French ironclad Redoutable explained
Redoutable was a central battery and
barbette ship of the
French Navy. She was the first warship in the world to use
steel as the principal building material.
[1] She was preceded by the
Colbert-class ironclads and was succeeded by
Dévastation-class.
Compared to iron, steel allowed for greater structural strength for a lower weight. France was the first country to manufacture steel in large quantities, using the Siemens process. At that time, steel plates still had some defects, and the outer bottom plating of the ship was made of wrought iron.
All-steel warships were later built by the Royal Navy, with the dispatch vessels Iris and Mercury, laid down in 1875–1876.
Construction
Contemporary description in Scientific American
Crew
Full complement: 30 officers + 679 ratings.
Trials or 1st category reserve: 8 officers + 371 ratings.
2nd category reserve: 5 officers + 139 ratings.
3rd category reserve: 0 officers + 27 ratings.
Service
Redoutable formed part of the French Mediterranean squadron.
Redoutable was present during the negotiation of the Boxer Protocol, a treaty signed on 7 September 1901 with China.
Commanding officers of the Redoutable
| Date | Commanding Officer |
|---|
| 1879 | Captain Rallier[2] |
| 1881 | Captain Behic |
| 1883 | Captain de Boissondy |
| 1885 | Captain de Slane |
| 1887 | Captain de Libran |
| 1889 | Captain Dieulouard |
| 1892 | Captain Chateauminois |
| 1894 | Captain Billard |
| 1896 | Captain Mallarmé |
| 5 September 1898 | Captain Esmez |
| 21 July 1900 | Captain Neny |
| 3 December 1901 | Captain Duroch |
| 15 October 1903 | Captain Poidloue |
| 1906 | Captain Passerat de Sillans |
| 5 December 1907 | Captain Drouet |
| 1909 | Lieutenant Arnauld* | |
- Lieutenant Arnauld was the director of movements of the port of Saigon, and commander of the naval auxiliaries and naval barracks.[2]
Bibliography
- Book: Gardiner, Robert. Steam, Steel and Shellfire: the Steam Warship 1815-1905. Conway's History of the Ship. 1992. Conway Marine Édition. France. 2-909675-16-5.
- Book: Roberts
, Stephen
. French Warships in the Age of Steam 1859–1914 . 2021 . Barnsley . Seaforth . 978-1-5267-4533-0 . .
- Book: Roche, Jean-Michel. Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française, Tome II (1870-2006). December 2005. Netmarine. Levallois-Perret, France.
- Book: Saibene, Marc. Les Cuirasses Redoutable, Dévastation, Courbet, Programme de 1872. Marine Édition Press. Bourg en Bresse, France. 2-909675-16-5. 1995.
- Saibene. Mark. 1994–1995. The Redoubtable, Parts I-III. Warship International. International Naval Research Organization. Toledo, Ohio. XXXI–XXXII. 1, 2, 1. 15–45, 117–139, 10–37. 0043-0374.
In pop culture
- The_Rebel_(2007_film) - shown in a postcard early in the film
External links
Notes and References
- Conway Marine, 'Steam, Steel, and Shellfire"
- Saibène, Les Cuirasses Redoutable, Dévastation, Courbet, Programme de 1872, p 56.
