Model of Reine Blanche's sister, Jeanne d'Arc, on display at the Musée de la Marine in Paris, before the rear barbettes were removed.
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History | |
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France | |
Name: | Reine Blanche |
Namesake: | Blanche of Castile Queen of France |
Builder: | Lorient |
Laid down: | 1865 |
Launched: | 10 March 1868 |
Commissioned: | 1870 |
Fate: | Condemned 12 November 1884 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type: | Alma-class ironclad |
Displacement: | 3,768 metric tons (3,708 long tons) |
Length: | 69.02 m (226 ft 5 in) |
Beam: | 13.94 m (45 ft 9 in) |
Draft: | 6.48 m (21.3 ft) (mean) |
Installed power: | 1,860 ihp (1,390 kW) |
Propulsion: | 1 shaft, 1 steam engine |
Sail plan: | Barque-rig |
Speed: | 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) |
Range: | 1,610 nautical miles (2,980 km; 1,850 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
Complement: | 316 |
Armament: |
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Armor: |
The French ironclad Reine Blanche was a wooden-hulled armored corvette built for the French Navy in the late 1860s as an improvement over the armored corvette Belliqueuse. She played a minor role in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and was accidentally rammed by one of her sisters in 1877. The ship bombarded the port of Sfax during the French occupation of Tunisia in 1881 before being sent to the Pacific in 1884. She quickly returned to port with worn-out boilers and was condemned later that year.
The Alma-class ironclads were designed as improved versions of the armored corvette Belliqueuse, suited for foreign deployments. Unlike their predecessor, the Alma-class ships were true central battery ironclads as they were fitted with armored transverse bulkheads. Like most ironclads of their era, they were equipped with a metal-reinforced ram.
Reine Blanche measured 69.02 meters (226 ft 5 in) between perpendiculars, with a beam of 13.94 meters (45 ft 9 in). She had a mean draft of 6.48 meters (21 ft 3 in) and displaced 3,768 metric tons (3,708 long tons). Her crew numbered 316 officers and men.
The ship had a single horizontal return connecting-rod steam engine driving a single propeller. Her engine was powered by four oval boilers. On sea trials the engine produced 1,860 indicated horsepower (1,390 kW) and the ship reached 11.72 knots (21.71 km/h; 13.49 mph).Reine Blanche carried 250 metric tons (250 long tons) of coal, allowing the ship to steam for 1,610 nautical miles (2,980 km; 1,850 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). She was barque-rigged and had a sail area of 1,454 square meters (15,650 sq ft).