French ironclad Richelieu The French ironclad " Richelieu " was a wooden - hulled central battery ironclad built for the French Navy in the early 1870s . She was named after the 17th century statesman Cardinal de Richelieu . The ship was the flagship of the Mediterranean Squadron for most of her career . " Richelieu " caught on fire in Toulon in 1880 and was scuttled to prevent her magazine s from exploding . She was salvaged and , after being repaired , resumed her role as flagship . In 1886 , however , the ship was placed in reserve and was eventually condemned in 1901 . While being towed to the ship breakers in Amsterdam in 1911 , " Richelieu " was caught in a storm in the Bay of Biscay and had to be cast loose from her tugboat . Nevertheless , the ship survived the storm and was recovered near the Scilly Isles from where she was towed to her final destination . Design and description . " Richelieu " was designed by Henri Dupuy de Lôme as a improved version of the s . As a central battery ironclad she had her armament concentrated amidships . Like most ironclads of her era she was equipped with a plough - shaped ram that projected from her hull . Her crew numbered around 750 officers and men . The metacentric height of the ship was very low , a little above . The ship measured overall , with a beam of . " Richelieu " had a maximum draft of and displaced . Propulsion . " Richelieu " was given two propellers by Dupuy de Lôme to make her more maneuverable for ramming . She had two Indret 3 - cylinder horizontal return connecting rod compound steam engines , each driving a single propeller . Her engines were powered by eight oval boilers . On sea trials the engines produced and " Richelieu " reached . She carried of coal which allowed her to steam for approximately at a speed of . " Richelieu " was initially square rig ged with three masts , then cut down to a schooner rig . Armament . " Richelieu " s intermediate armament of four guns was mounted in barbette s on the upper deck , one gun at each corner of the battery , with her six guns on the battery deck below the barbettes . One 240 - millimeter gun was mounted in the forecastle as a chase gun . The ship ' s secondary armament consisted of ten guns . These were later replaced by six guns . The 18 - caliber 274 - millimeter Modéle 1870 gun fired an armor - piercing , shell while the gun itself weighed . The gun fired its shell at a muzzle velocity of and was credited with the ability to penetrate a nominal of wrought iron armour at the muzzle . The armor - piercing shell of the 19 - caliber 240 - millmeter Modele 1870 gun weighed while the gun itself weighed . It had a muzzle velocity of and was credited with the ability to penetrate a nominal of wrought iron armor at the muzzle . The 138 - millimeter gun was 21 calibers long and weighed . It fired a explosive shell that had a muzzle velocity of . The guns could fire both solid shot and explosive shells . At some point the ship received eight , and then later ten more , Hotchkiss 5 - barrel revolving guns . They fired a shell weighing about at a muzzle velocity of about to a range of about . They had a rate of fire of about 30 rounds per minute . The hull was not recessed to enable any of the guns on the battery deck to fire forward or aft . However , the guns mounted in the barbettes sponsoned out over the sides of the hull did have some ability to fire fore and aft . Late in the ship ' s career four above - water torpedo tube s were added . Armor . " Richelieu " had a complete wrought iron waterline belt . The sides and the transverse bulkheads of the battery itself were armored with of wrought iron . The barbettes were unarmored , but the deck was protected by of armor . Service . " Richelieu " was laid down at Toulon in 1869 and launched on 3 December 1873 . While the exact reason for such prolonged construction time is not known , it was probably due to financial pressures caused by slashing of French Navy ' s budget which was cut after the Franco - Prussian War of 1870 – 71 coupled with the outdated work practices of the French dockyards at the time , which were not suitable for the Industrial Age . The ship began her sea trials on 12 April 1875 , but did not begin her service with the Mediterranean Squadron , of which she became flagship , until 10 February 1876 . She was placed in reserve on 3 December 1879 . While in Toulon harbor on 29 December 1880 , " Richelieu " caught fire and had to be scuttled to prevent her magazines from exploding . The ship capsized to port in of water ; she lay on her barbettes almost at a 90° angle . In order to salvage her , all accessible guns , ammunition , masts , armor and movable decks were removed and the equivalent weight was placed in the ship ' s holds to lower her center of gravity . A sheer hulk was moved to her port side and cables were connected to on the other side of " Richelieu " . 360 empty casks and of cork were attached to the starboard side to prevent the ship from rolling too far the other way . After an hour and a half of lifting , " Richelieu " had been righted to a 45° angle ; a subsequent effort completed the job . " Richelieu " was repaired and returned to service as the flagship of the Mediterranean Squadron on 8 October 1881 where she remained until 1886 . The squadron made port visits in Tangiers and Lisbon in 1884 before sailing to Brest and Cherbourg for exercises . In 1885 " Richelieu " tested Bullivant torpedo net s , but they reduced her speed to a maximum of and as a result were not considered successful . The ship was placed back in reserve in 1886 and became flagship of the Reserve Squadron on 8 September 1892 , which , despite its name , consisted of ships in commission . The squadron conducted exercises from June to August 1892 in French waters . " Richelieu " was condemned on 5 March 1900 , but was not immediately sold . After having been sold to Dutch ship breakers , " Richelieu " departed Toulon on 28 January 1911 . She was under tow in the Bay of Biscay , having left the Mediterranean for the first time in her existence , when a storm caused the tugboat to cast her loose . The ship remained afloat , however , and was subsequently recovered near the Scilly Isles and towed to Amsterdam where she was broken up .