French ironclad Couronne

Postcard of Couronne at anchor
Class overview
Operators French Navy
Preceded byGloire class
Succeeded byMagenta class
Built1859–1862
In service1862–1931
In commission1862–1908
Completed1
Scrapped1
History
NameCouronne
NamesakeCrown of Napoleon III
Ordered4 March 1858
BuilderArsenal de Lorient
Cost6,018,885 francs
Laid down14 February 1859
Launched28 March 1861
Commissioned2 February 1862
Out of serviceHulked, 1 September 1909
ReclassifiedAs gunnery training ship, 1885
FateScrapped, 1934
General characteristics (as completed)
TypeArmoured frigate
Displacement6,428 t (6,326 long tons)
Length80.85 m (265 ft 3 in)
Beam16.7 m (54 ft 9 in)
Draught7.8 m (25 ft 7 in)
Depth of hold9.7 m (31 ft 10 in)
Installed power
Propulsion1 × shaft; 1 × HRCR-steam engine
Sail planBarquentine rigged
Speed12.5 knots (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph)
Range2,410 nautical miles (4,460 km; 2,770 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement570
Armament30 × 164.7 mm (6.5 in) rifled breech-loading guns
Armour

The French ironclad Couronne ("Crown") was the first iron-hulled ironclad warship built for the French Navy in 1859–1862. She was the first such ship to be laid down, although the British armoured frigate HMS Warrior was completed first. The ship participated in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871, but saw no combat. She was served as a gunnery training ship from 1885 to 1908 before she was hulked the following year and became a barracks ship in Toulon. Couronne was scrapped in 1934, over 70 years after she was completed.