French ironclad Jemmapes
Jemmapes was the lead ship of a class of two coastal defense ships built for the French Navy () in the 1890s. Launched in 1892, the vessel joined the Northern Squadron of the French Navy () at Brest. Armed with a main armament of two  guns, the vessel was designed within the principles of the . The ship joined the Northern Squadron, which was called, "the most homogenous and dangerous squadron that one could meet at sea". Jemmapes took part in a large naval exercise in 1895 but otherwise had an uneventful career as French naval doctrine moved from a fleet of smaller coastal defense ships to larger ocean-going battleships. The ship was decommissioned in 1910 and served as a hulk before being sold in 1927 to be broken up.

Design and description
thumb|left|alt=Cutaway of the Jemmapes class from Brassey's Naval Annual|Plan view of the Jemmapes class
A larger and more capable design based on the  launched in 1883, Jemmapes was the lead ship of a class of two coastal defense ships designed by de Bussy for the French Navy () as part of a wider adoption of the principles of . The design was to have a similar level of armament, armour, draught and fuel storage as the preceding design but with a more modern powerplant based on Belleville boilers that would provide an increase in speed to . The design proposal was accepted by the Board of Construction () on 26 February 1889, finalised on 2 July and approved by the Minister of the Navy () Jules François Émile Krantz on 6 July.

Jemmapes had an overall length of ,  at the waterline and between perpendiculars, a beam of  at the waterline and a mean draught of  at deep load. The vessel displaced  and had a ship's complement that numbered 299 sailors of all ranks.

Jemmapes was powered by two  triple-expansion steam engines that each drove one propeller shaft using steam provided by 16 Lagrafel and d'Allest Belleville boilers. The engine was rated at  at 108rpm. While undertaking sea trials, Jemmapes reached a speed of  from . In service, speed was restricted as a bow wave was created at  which, by  became impossible to push forward, meaning this became the de facto maximum speed. The ship carried  of coal, which gave a range of  at a cruising speed of . The maximum load of coal was . Once in service, a range of  at  was claimed.

Jemmapes carried a main battery of two Canon de  Modèle 1887 guns  in a two single-gun turrets, one forward of the superstructure and the other aft. The guns were manually-loaded and fired one round every five minutes, but this was sped up between 1900 and 1902 with new equipment. Secondary armament was provided by four  45-calibre M1891 QF guns mounted at the corners of the shelter deck. Defence from torpedo boats was provided by six Canon de  Modèle 1885 Hotchkiss guns and eight  Hotchkiss revolving cannon.

The ship had a full-length waterline armor belt that tapered from the maximum thickness of  amidships to  aft and  forward. The belt was  high amidships. The armor was hammered steel on the port side and compound armor on the starboard. The turrets were protected by  thick compound armor that was mounted on fixed bases  thick while the gun shields for the secondary armament was provided by hammered steel armor  thick. The main deck was protected by  thick iron plates. The laminated steel plates protecting the conning tower measured  in thickness.

Construction and career
Ordered on 18 December 1889 from Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire of Saint-Nazaire and Saint-Denis, Jemmapes was laid down on 26 December, and launched on 27 April 1892. The vessel cost £525,000. The ship's machinery was fully installed on 3 July 1893 and the vessel was moved to Brest on 24 December. Initially commissioned for trials on 19 January 1884, Jemmapes had to wait until her machinery was accepted on 31 January the following year before being fully commissioned on 4 March. She joined the Northern Squadron () of the French Navy 12 days later. On 12 March, as part of the naval budget debate, Vice Admiral Armand Bernard declared that the squadron, which included three other ships alongside Jemmapes, was "the most homogenous and dangerous squadron that one could meet at sea". They were considered more than equal to their smaller German contemporaries, the  and .

Jemmapes had a generally uneventful career. Between 1 and 23 July 1895, the vessel took part in a large naval exercise in the Atlantic Ocean as part of the Northern Squadron. The manoeuvres included a forced landing at Quiberon and a mock blockade and attack on Cherbourg and Rochefort. The vessel served as part of the defending force, which was successful in resisting the attack. The ship also took part in the maneuvers the following year, conducted from 6 to 26 July in conjunction with the local defense forces of Brest, Rochefort, Cherbourg, and Lorient. The squadron was divided into three divisions for the maneuvers, and Jemmapes was assigned to the 2nd Division along with her sister ship , the cruiser  and the aviso , which represented part of the defending French squadron. At the end of the century, the vessel was part of the Coastal Defence Division alongside the ironclads ,  and Valmy.

Meanwhile, French naval doctrine was changing and the focus on coastal defense was being replaced by one of larger sea-going warships. The size of ships was also increasing, and newer, more capable battleships entered service. Jemmapes was transferred to reserve at Cherbourg between 1902 and 20 September 1909, returning to service at Brest for just over two months before being briefly transferred to Rochefort on 9 December. The vessel was decommissioned at Rochefort on 22 March 1910 and struck on 3 August. Jemmapes served as a hulk for more than a decade until she was sold to Société Goldenberg on 5 November 1927 to be broken up.

Citations

Bibliography
 
 
 

 

Category:1892 ships
Category:Coastal defense ships of the French Navy
Category:Jemmapes-class ironclads
Category:Ships built in France