her machinery was completed by 11 May 1881. She was placed in limited commission ten days earlier with a crew of 99 men to conduct her trials, which lasted through 20 November 1882. The ship was placed in full commission on 17 April 1883, and five days later, she joined the Mediterranean Squadron, based in Toulon. On 2–3 March 1886, she took part in experiments with torpedo boats to determine the effectiveness of various attack angles. Later on the 3rd, Amiral Duperré and the ironclads , , , , and conducted shooting practice using the old ironclad as a target. They fired at a range of and scored 22 percent hits with cast iron practice shells, though they conducted the test under unrealistic conditions, with Armide anchored in a calm sea. The year's large-scale maneuvers were held off Toulon from 10 to 17 May, and they tested the effectiveness of torpedo boats in defending the coastline from a squadron of ironclads, whether cruisers and torpedo boats could break through a blockade of ironclads, and whether a flotilla of torpedo boats could intercept ironclads at sea. Another major set of exercises was held from 2 to 12 June at Ajaccio on the island of Corsica; Amiral Duperré and several other ironclads simulated a fleet attacking the port, which was defended by a coastal defense ship, three cruisers, and twenty torpedo boats. The ironclad squadron thereafter sailed to Oran, French Algeria, for another round of maneuvers that began on 25 June. During these exercises, the ironclads simulated an enemy fleet passing through the Strait of Gibraltar to attack the French Mediterranean coast; torpedo boats attempted to intercept them off Majorca. From the year's maneuvers, the French concluded that the torpedo boats of the day were not sufficiently powerful enough to achieve any of the goals that had been assigned to them, particularly further from coast, but nevertheless still posed significant threats to blockading warships. These lessons spurred the development of larger torpedo boats better able to operate at sea. Later that year, Amiral Duperré underwent repairs to her boilers; the work lasted into 1887. In May 1887, Amiral Duperré took part in exercises to practice convoy escort; the French Army kept significant forces in French North Africa, and these units would have to be transported back to Europe in the event of a major conflict. The ship was assigned to escort a