Name Redoubtable Length 101 m Launched September 1876 Beam 20 m | Struck 9 March 1910 Construction started August 1873 Weight 8,858 tons Builder DCNS | |
 | ||
Laid down December 187218 July 1873 Commissioned 22 November 1878 for trials.31 December 1878 for service.8 February 1879 Fate Sold 17 August 1911 for 100,000 francs. 1912 broken up at Saigon.Sold for demolition at Saigon 1913 | ||
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. She was preceded by the Colbert-class ironclads.
Contents
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.
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.