La Gloire represented France's attempt to regain first-rank naval status with an armored wooden frigate. Her reported speed was 13 knots, while her operating records suggest a practical maximum nearer 11, compared with Warrior's 14 knots. She carried rifled muzzle-loaders, and her sister Normandie crossed the Atlantic in 1862 during the French intervention in Mexico. Claims that this voyage introduced ironclads to North America are disputed on the grounds that Civil War ironclads were already operating there. Construction quality weakened the class: only one ship used seasoned timber, and the others decayed within about a decade. The comparison exposes the cost and durability problems of trying to recover naval leadership quickly.
Chapter · 14:02-20:46
La Gloire and the cost of first-rank sea power
The French La Gloire shows the limits of trying to regain first-rank sea power quickly and cheaply.