Marceau-class ironclad

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Marceau-class ironclads were a trio of French barbette battleships built in the 1880s and early 1890s. The ships were Marceau (the lead vessel), Neptune, and Magenta. A fourth planned ship, Hoche, was begun but redesigned after serious flaws were found in the original plans.

Design and construction
- The Marceau class was based on the Amiral Baudin design but carried smaller main guns: four 340 mm guns arranged in a lozenge pattern (one forward, one aft on the centerline, and two amidships on the sides). They used a mix of iron hull and steel superstructures.
- Construction dragged on for about a decade due to French naval administration problems and continual design changes. By the time they entered service in the early 1890s, newer pre-dreadnoughts already outclassed them.

Career
- The three ships served in the Mediterranean in the 1890s, performing mainly training and routine duties. They were soon moved to the Reserve Division as more modern battleships were commissioned.
- In the early 1900s, all three received modernization work, including new water-tube boilers and lighter superstructures, but their activity remained limited.
- Neptune and Magenta were retired from front-line use by 1910–1913. Marceau stayed longer as a floating workshop to support torpedo boats and submarines during World War I.

Fate
- Marceau was sold for scrap in 1921, but while being towed away from Bizerte she ran aground and could not be refloated. The wreck remained visible for years afterward.