The OppositionIn 1863 the Controller of the Navy reported that the French Ironclad fleet, viewed by the Admiralty as the most likely adversary, consisted of Gloire, Normandie, Invincible and Couronne who combined 148 guns, 130 of which were behind armour. The British fleet of Warrior, Black Prince, Defence and Resistance mounted 116 guns, 80 of which were behind armour. Warrior and Black Prince's superor speed was countered by the slower Defence and Resistance. Whilst the higher gunport sills of the British ships would provide an advantage in the Atlantic, once in smoother waters this edge would dissappear, added to this the French ships were armoured from end to end and had greater manouevaerability. Impinging upon this advantage was the fact that only Couronne had an iron hull and the French 55lb guns were substantially inferior to the British guns in terms of armour penetration. On balance, the Controller conceded that individual power was on the Royal Navy's side, but emphasised the "Compactness and homogenous qualities of the French ships".
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Warrior in Battle
Gloire was launched November 1859. The class were poor seaboats, suffered from unsound timber and generally failed to meet expectations. They were broken up in the 1870's
With the outbreak of hostilities in the American Civil War the situation became serious enough for Warrior or Black Prince to be stationed to the North America Squadron. The Federal government backed down, but it may be worth examining the fighting capabilities of the latest Union ship, the Monitor.
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