The Bayard class was a pair of two ironclad warships built for the French Navy in the late 1870s and early 1880s. The class comprised two ships: Bayard and Turenne. The class is sometimes referred to as the Turenne class. They were based on the ironclad Amiral Duperré, adopting the same general arrangement, but were scaled down in size. They were intended for use overseas in the French colonial empire, and as such, they retained a sailing rig for long-range cruising and copper sheathing for their hulls to protect them when they would be unable to be dry-docked regularly. They carried a main battery of four 240 mm (9.4 in) guns that were mounted in individual barbettes; two were in sponsons forward, abreast of the conning tower, and the other two were on the centerline aft.
Turenne in Toulon, March 1890
Turenne, date unknown; the photo was likely taken while she was in Algiers in March 1885.
Bayard
Bayard during the Pescadores campaign in 1885
Bayard was the lead ship of the Bayard class of ironclad barbette ships built for the French Navy in the late 1870s and 1880s. Intended for service in the French colonial empire, she was designed as a "station ironclad", smaller versions of the first-rate vessels built for the main fleet. The Vauban class was a scaled down variant of Amiral Duperré. They carried their main battery of four 240 mm (9.4 in) guns in open barbettes, two forward side-by-side and the other two aft on the centerline. Bayard was laid down in 1876 and was commissioned in 1882.
Bayard crossing the Suez Canal at Port Said while bringing the remains of Admiral Amédée Courbet back to France. Her spars are set diagonally, one mast perpendicular to another, as a sign of mourning.
Bayard during the Pescadores campaign in 1885