Designed under Henri Dupuy de Lôme and launched in 1850 as an early purpose-built steam battleship, Napoléon shows how rapidly the benchmark changed: within a decade, the discussion had shifted to purpose-built ironclads. Gloire was an important French step, but Warrior stole her thunder by being larger, faster, more reliable, and more heavily armed. Gloire protected a greater proportion of her smaller hull, so Warrior was not superior in every individual design measure. Warrior’s preservation makes her a rare physical survivor of this decade of rapid change.
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Napoléon, Gloire, and Warrior in a decade of change
The French Napoléon and Gloire, followed by Britain’s HMS Warrior, show how quickly the warship benchmark changed between 1850 and 1860.