Cerbère was the lead ship of her class of four ironclad rams built for the French Navy during the 1870s. Completed in 1870, she spent most of her career in reserve although the ship was briefly commissioned during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871. Cerbère was scrapped in 1887.
Design and development The Bélier class constituted a reversal of the defensive philosophy that drove the design of the preceding ironclad ram, , with their emphasis on an offensive role using their guns instead of a ram. The ships had an overall length of , a beam of and a draft of . They displaced . They were powered by a pair of two-cylinder direct-acting steam engines that used steam provided by six boilers to drive each propeller shaft. The engines were rated at a total of that was intended to give the ships a speed of . The ships carried enough coal to give them a range of at a speed of . The ship's complement numbered 147 sailors of all ranks.
Cerbére was armed with a main battery of two Mle 1864 rifled breech-loading guns in a turret in the bow. The turret sat above a barbette that housed the turret machinery; both had armor thick. The ships were protected by a full-length waterline belt of wrought iron that was thick. The deck armor was thick in Cerbère.
Construction and career The ship was completed in July 1870 and cruised to Cherbourg and Le Havre in July and August before returning to Brest. The ship was placed in full commission on 12 December until she was reduced to reserve at Cherbourg on 16 April 1871. Cerbère was struck from the navy list on 12 November 1886 and was broken up there the following year. References
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