Bouledogue was a one of four ironclad rams built for the French Navy during the 1870s. Completed in 1873, she spent most of her career in reserve. The ship accidentally rammed and sank a torpedo boat in 1895 and was sold for scrap two years later.
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.
Bouledogue was armed with a main battery of two Mle 1870 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 Bouledogue.
Construction and career The ship was completed in October 1873 and was in commission until she was placed in reserve on 19 April 1875. Bouledogue collided with and sank the torpedo boat Torpilleur No. 69 in Lorient harbor on 31 July 1895. The ironclad was struck from the navy list on 24 April 1896 and was sold for scrap on 21 March 1897.
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