Bouvines - class coast defense ship The " Bouvines " class was a pair of coastal defense ship s built for the French Navy . The class comprised two ships : " Bouvines " , named after the Battle of Bouvines , and " Amiral - Tréhouart " , named after the prominent Admiral . The ships were very similar to the preceding s and differed mainly by the addition of a forecastle deck and a smaller main armament of guns . They were sold for scrap after World War I . General characteristics . The " Bouvines " class ships were half - sisters to the " Jemmapes " class laid down at the same time . They were virtually identical to them except that they were given a forecastle deck to improve seaworthiness and the main armament was lightened to offset the additional weight , Mle 1887 guns were installed rather than the 340 mm ( 13 . 4 in ) Mle 1887 guns of the " Jemmapes " class . " Bouvines " and " Amiral - Tréhouart " were long at the waterline and long overall . They had a beam of and a draft of forward and aft . She was only slightly heavier than the " Jemmapes " class and displaced , only more than the earlier ships . Once in service they proved to roll badly so bilge keels were later fitted Propulsion . The " Bouvines " class ships used two inclined horizontal triple - expansion steam engines built by Menpenti of Marseilles , one engine per shaft . " Bouvines ' s " engines were powered by eighteen d ' Allest - Lagrafel water tube boilers and had two funnels , but " Amiral - Tréhouart " used sixteen Belleville boilers instead and had only one funnel . The engines produced a total of 8865 ihp and gave a top speed of on trials . The ships carried a maximum of of coal which allowed the ship to steam for at a speed of . Armament . Like the " Jemmapes " class which preceded her , the " Bouvines " class ships carried their main armament of two 45 caliber Modèle 1887 guns in two single - gun turrets , one each fore and aft . The guns fired projectiles at the rate of 1 round per minute at a muzzle velocity of approximately . The guns could be depressed to −4° and elevated to + 10° . The ship ' s secondary armament consisted of eight 45 caliber Modèle 1892 guns , four of which were mounted in individual casemate s . The other four were carried on pivot mounts with gun shield s on the shelter deck directly above the four casemated guns on the corners of the superstructure . The guns fired shells at a muzzle velocity of . Initially four 40 caliber Canon de 47 mm Modèle 1885 Hotchkiss guns were mounted as anti - torpedo boat guns in the fighting top , but this was later increased to eight . They were mounted in platforms in the mainmast and on the superstructure . They fired a projectile at to a maximum range of . Their theoretical maximum rate of fire was fifteen rounds per minute , but only seven rounds per minute sustained . Initially ten 37 m revolving Hotchkiss revolving cannon were carried on the superstructure , but this was reduced to three when the additional 47 mm guns were mounted . Two torpedo tube s were mounted above the waterline , but they were removed in 1906 . Armor . The " Bouvines " class ships had a complete waterline armor belt of Creusot steel that tapered from the maximum thickness of to at the ship ' s ends . The belt ' s height was an average of , but increased to at the bow and to at the stern . The ship was intended to have of the belt showing above the waterline , but they were approximately too heavy as completed and only of the belt was above the waterline . The hull above the belt was completely unarmored . The maximum thickness of the armored deck was and it was joined to the top of the armor belt . The main turret armor was in thickness although the turret bases were only thick . The conning tower had of armor . Construction . " Bouvines " was authorized in the Supplementary Estimates of 1889 although " Amiral - Tréhouart " had been authorized in the 1889 Ordinary Naval Estimates . " Bouvines " was laid down at Les Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée at La Seyne - sur - Mer 30 September 1890 . She was launched on 29 March 1892 , began sea trials on 15 October 1894 , but took until 1 December 1895 to enter service . " Amiral - Tréhouart " was laid down at Lorient during October 1890 , launched in May 1893 and entered service in May 1896 . History . " Bouvines " served as a flagship for the entirety of her active service where she served both in the " Northern Squadron " and " Channel Flotilla " in the Bay of Biscay and the English Channel as well as in the " Mediterranean Squadron " . She was stricken on 1 July 1913 and was used by the Inspection Service at Cherbourg between 1914 and 1917 . She was condemned in 1918 and sold for scrapping in 1920 . Little is known of " Amiral - Tréhouart ' s " career other than she served as a submarine tender during World War I and was sold for scrapping in 1922 .