 A scale model of sister ship Flandre
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Provence |
| Namesake | Provence |
| Ordered | 16 November 1860 |
| Builder | Arsenal de Toulon |
| Laid down | March 1861 |
| Launched | 29 October 1863 |
| Completed | March 1864 |
| Commissioned | 1 February 1865 |
| Stricken | 3 May 1886 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap, 10 November 1893 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Type | Provence-class ironclad frigate |
| Displacement | 5,810 t (5,720 long tons) |
| Length | 82.9 m (272 ft) (o/a) |
| Beam | 17.06 m (56 ft) |
| Draft | 8.4 m (27 ft 7 in) (deep load) |
| Installed power | |
| Propulsion | 1 shaft, 1 horizontal-return connecting rod-steam engine |
| Sail plan | Barque-rig |
| Speed | 14.34 knots (26.56 km/h; 16.50 mph) (trials) |
| Range | 2,410 nautical miles (4,460 km; 2,770 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement | 579–594 |
| Armament |
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| Armor |
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The French ironclad Provence was the lead ship of her class of 10 armored frigates built for the French Navy (Marine Nationale) during the 1860s. Commissioned in 1865, she spent the bulk of her career with the Mediterranean Squadron (Escadre de la Méditerranée), often serving as a flagship. The ironclad played a minor role in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871, blockading the North Sea coast of Prussia. Provence was decommissioned after the war, but was reactivated in late 1875.
She was assigned to the Eastern Mediterranean in early 1879 and became flagship of the Levant Naval Division (Division navale du Levant) later that year. The ship was condemned in 1886 and became a target ship until she was sold for scrap in 1893.