Gloire is essential to understanding the moment when France pressed naval technology forward and Britain responded with Warrior and Black Prince. Warrior's scale and later survival have eclipsed the French ship, even though Gloire helps explain the competition that produced Britain's answer. She developed the armoured batteries built for the Crimean War into a seagoing ironclad. Seeing Gloire and Warrior in ports across the Channel would let visitors compare the French development with the British overmatch it provoked.
Notable Point · 36:07-39:14
Gloire and the French push into ironclad warfare
Preserving Gloire would make the French role in the ironclad transition as visible as the later and more famous HMS Warrior.