*** Welcome to piglix ***

French ironclad Magenta

Magenta and Napoléon III in Brest.jpg
Magenta, Napoléon and Solférino anchored in the harbor at BrestFrance.
History
France
Name: Magenta
Namesake: Battle of Magenta
Builder: Brest
Laid down: 22 June 1859
Launched: 22 June 1861
Fate: Exploded and sank 31 October 1875
General characteristics
Class and type: Magenta-class ironclad
Displacement: 7,129 tonnes 
Propulsion:
Speed: 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Endurance: 3 months of food, 700 tonnes of coal
Complement: 681 men
Armament:
  • 10 × 240 mm (9.4 in) guns
  • 4 × 190 mm (7.5 in) guns
  • 50 × rifled 30-pounders

Magenta was a broadside ironclad of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. She served as flagship of the Mediterranean Squadron.

On 21 July 1875, Magenta was serving as flagship in a naval exercise involving six ironcladsMagenta and five Alma-class central battery ironclads – and a number of smaller ships in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the east coast of Corsica . The ironclads were steaming in beautiful weather at 8 knots in two parallel columns, with Magenta leading one column, followed by Jeanne d′Arc and Reine Blanche, and Armide leading the other, followed by Thétis and Alma. At 12:00 noon the admiral commanding the squadron ordered the screw corvette Forfait, operating as a dispatch vessel, to pass astern of Magenta to receive orders. Attempting to place his ship in the column between Magenta and Jeanne d′Arc, the commanding officer of Forfait misjudged his turn, and Jeanne d′Arc collided with Forfait, her ram bow tearing into Forfait′s side. Forfait sank 14 minutes later, her crew of 160 taking safely to her boats; her commanding officer floated free from the bridge as Forfait sank beneath him, but also was rescued.


...
Wikipedia

...