Tourville was an unprotected cruiser of the Duquesne class built for the French Navy in the 1870s. She was ordered in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War, and was intended for use against commerce raiders, which necessitated a high top speed, heavy armament, and long cruising radius. The ship's engines proved to be very unreliable, and coupled with the high cost of operating the vessel, she proved to be a disappointment in service. As a result, she saw just four years of active service during her more than twenty-five years of existence. She took part in the French conquest of Tunisia in 1881 and was sent to East Asia in 1883, but saw no action during the Tonkin campaign, being recalled early the next year, to be replaced by more capable cruisers that were cheaper to operate. She saw no further service and was struck from the naval register in 1901 and was sold for scrap in 1903.

The Duquesne class was a group of two unprotected cruisers built for the French Navy in the 1870s. The class comprised two ships: Duquesne and Tourville. They were ordered in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War, and were intended for use against commerce raiders, which necessitated a high top speed, heavy armament, and long cruising radius. Both ships' engines proved to be very unreliable, required significant maintenance to keep in operation, and burned coal voraciously. Their large crews also increased the cost of operating the vessels, and all of these problems led to short service lives. Over the course of the twenty-five years following their launch, Duquesne saw active service for just seven years, while Tourville was in commission for only four. The former made a single deployment overseas in the mid-1880s, when she cruised on the Pacific station for three years, while Tourville spent just a year in the Far East before being recalled. Both ships were struck from the naval register in 1901 and sold for scrap thereafter.