decision was made to suspend the vessels on 24 October 1884. But Thomas Brassey noted that the ships had been ordered in 1882 and that at least some work on the keel for Brennus had already been completed by October 1884, though Charles Martel had not yet been laid down. In 1887, Aube left the ministry and his replacement, Édouard Barbey, disagreed with his predecessor over the future composition of the French fleet. Huin suggested reworking the design for Brennus, which Barbey accepted, resulting in France's first pre-dreadnought battleship, . There is some confusion as to the ship's fate. Jordan and Caresse seem to indicate that the two vessels were one in the same, stating that "work on the partially built Brennus resumed in 1889." But in another publication, Caresse provides a new keel-laying date for Brennus on 2 January 1889, and Brassey indicates the two were different vessels. Speaking of Charles Martel, the historian Luc Feron states more plainly, instructing readers to "[not] confuse this one with the 12,000-ton battleship of the 1890 program which was actually built." Charles Martel was scrapped in Toulon and some of her components were reused in other projects. Her name was reused in the later battleship , also designed by Huin. Characteristics The two Charles Martel-class ships were to have been long at the waterline, with a beam of . Charles Martel was to displace , while Brennus was to have been slightly lighter, at ; both vessels' draft was to have been . They were steel-hulled vessels. Their propulsion system was to have consisted of three marine steam engines of unrecorded type, each driving a screw propeller. Their engines were rated to produce a top speed of from . The ships' primary armament was to have consisted of four 340 mm guns carried in individual mounts in the French lozenge arrangement. The guns fired high-explosive shells filled with melinite with a muzzle velocity of . These would have been supported by a secondary battery of eight guns in individual casemate mounts. Close-range defense against torpedo boats would have been provided by seven light auto-cannon of unrecorded type. The ships would have been protected with compound armor; their belt was to have been , but unlike previous French ironclads, it did not cover the entire length of the hull. An identical thickness covered their main battery barbettes. Footnotes Notes Citations References Ironclad classes