The Tempête class consisted of a pair of ironclad coastal-defense ships built for the French Navy () in the 1870s, and .
Design and description The design of the Tempête-class coast-defense ships was based on that of the British breastwork monitors and . To maximize the traverse of the single gun turret, the superstructure was as narrow as possible, only wide. The ships had an overall length of , a beam of and a draft of forward and aft at deep load. They displaced at deep load. The crew of the Tempête class numbered 7 officers and 165 enlisted men.Caresse, pp. 161–162
The Tempête class was powered by a single six-cylinder, horizontal compound-expansion steam engine that drove one propeller shaft using steam provided by four IndretCaresse, p. 163 cylindrical boilers. The engine was rated at Campbell, p. 299 and was intended to give the ships a top speed of . During her sea trials Tempête reached a speed of from . The ships carried enough coal to give them a range of at a speed of .
Armament and armor The Tempêtes carried their main battery of two Canon de Modèle 1875 guns in a single twin-gun turret, forward of the superstructure. Defense from torpedo boats was provided by four Canon de Modèle 1885 Hotchkiss guns and four Hotchkiss revolving cannon. The 47 mm guns were positioned on the corners of the hurricane deck on top of the superstructure and the revolver guns were placed between them, two on each broadside.
The ships had a full-length wrought-iron waterline armor belt that tapered from the maximum thickness of amidships to at the ships' ends. The armored breastwork supporting the superstructure and the turret was long and was also 330 mm thick. The main deck was protected by iron plates, as was the deck below it. The turret armor was thick and was backed by of teak. The plates protecting the conning tower measured 250 mm in thickness.
Ships
NameBuilderLaid downLaunchedCommissioned Fate (Tempest)Arsenal de Brest 26 December 1872Silverstone, p. 112 18 August 1876 4 July 1883Caresse, p. 166 Sunk as a target, 20 March 1909Caresse, p. 172 (Avenger) 1 December 1874 16 May 1878Silverstone, p. 114 18 June 1882Gille, p. 73 Scrapped, 1906Roche, p. 351
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nice picture gallery of the ships once you scroll about 2/3 down