Saigon was a ironclad floating battery built for the French Navy after the Crimean War of 1854–1855. Completed in 1862, she was placed in reserve shortly afterward. The ship caught fire and sank in 1863, but was salvaged and repaired. Saigon was briefly commissioned during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871 before she was hulked in 1871.
Design and development In contrast to the Dévastation class, the Palestros were intended to serve as coastal-defense ships and were designed to have greater mobility and seaworthiness than the older ships. They were also reduced in size to minimize their profile. The ships had an overall length of , a beam of and a draft of . They displaced . The Palestro class was powered by a pair of high-pressure direct-acting steam engines, each driving a single propeller shaft. The engine was rated at . The ships were designed to reach , but some were slightly faster. They were fitted with two masts using a schooner rig. The ship's complement numbered 200 sailors of all ranks.
The Palestros carried a main battery of a dozen Mle 1860 30 pdr guns on the main deck. The ships were protected by a full-length waterline belt of wrought iron that was thick. Protection for the gun battery was thick. At some point, the Mle 1860 guns were replaced by Mle 1864 rifled breech-loading guns and then reduced in number to 10 guns.
Construction and career Saigon was ordered on 18 July 1859 and laid down at the Arman Brothers shipyard in Bordeaux two days later. The ship was launched on 24 June 1861 and completed in November 1862. She was placed in reserve on 1 January 1863. Saigon caught fire on 15 November and sank in the Charente River. The ship was refloated on 30 November and her repairs lasted until March 1864. She was immediately placed in reserve and remained there until she was commissioned on 13 September 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War.
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