Overview
The French ironclad Montcalm was a wooden-hulled armored corvette built for the French Navy in the mid-1860s. She was named after Major General Montcalm who lost the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759. She played a minor role in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871 where she captured one Prussian sailing ship. Montcalm spent most of her later career abroad, either in Chinese waters or in the Pacific Ocean. The ship was condemned in 1891.
Design and description
The s were designed as improved versions of the armored corvette suitable for foreign deployments. Unlike their predecessor the Alma-class ships were true central battery ironclads as they were fitted with armored transverse bulkheads. Like most ironclads of their era they were equipped with a metal-reinforced ram. Montcalm measured between perpendiculars, with a beam of . She had a mean draft of and displaced . Her crew numbered 316 officers and men.
Propulsion
The ship had a single horizontal return connecting-rod steam engine driving a single propeller. Her engine was powered by four oval boilers. On sea trials, the engine produced and the ship reached . Montcalm carried of coal which allowed the ship to steam for at a speed of . She was barque-rigged and had a sail area of .
Armament
Montcalm mounted her four Modèle 1864 breech-loading guns in the central battery on the battery deck. The other two 194-millimeter guns were mounted in barbettes on the upper deck, sponsoned out over the sides of the ship. The four guns were also mounted on the upper deck.
Armor
Montcalm had a complete wrought iron waterline belt, approximately high. The sides of the battery itself were armored with of wrought iron and the ends of the battery were closed by bulkheads of the same thickness. The barbette armor was thick, backed by of wood. The unarmored portions of her sides were protected by iron plates.
Service
Montcalm was laid down at Rochefort on 26 October 1865 and launched on 16 October 1868. The ship began her sea trials on 16 June 1869 and was then sent to the Mediterranean until May 1870. During the Franco-Prussian War, she captured the German barque Union in the North Sea and watched the Prussian corvette in Portuguese waters.