convoy of four simulated troop ships, along with Colbert and the ironclads and . A squadron of cruisers and torpedo boats was tasked with intercepting the convoy. The convoy used bad weather to make the passage, as heavy seas kept the torpedo boats from going to sea. At some point, one of the ship's main guns accidentally exploded, blowing its breech, though reports conflict over the timing and the results of the incident. According to the contemporary journal The Naval Annual, the explosion took place on 13 December 1888 and killed six men from the gun crew. That report offered two explanations, as different experts faulted the brown powder propellant charge, which was believed to have decayed, or defects in the steel breech, as the guns carried by Amiral Duperré were among the earliest steel-built guns in French service. But the historian Theodore Ropp stated that it was the result of an increased propellant charge. By the early 1880s, the French had developed more effective, slower-burning propellants, and had bored out the chambers of existing guns to accept larger charges of the new powder. Amiral Duperrés gun was the only weapon that had been modified to have failed. And according to Ropp, no men were killed in the accident. 1889–1909 Amiral Duperré took part in the 1889 fleet maneuvers in company with her division-mates and six other ironclads, along with numerous smaller craft. Amiral Duperré served as part of the French force during the maneuvers, which lasted from 30 June to 6 July. A second round of exercises was held later that month, beginning on 23 July. The enemy squadron conducted a simulated attack on Toulon that night, but poor weather prevented further operations and the maneuvers were cancelled later on the 24th. She served in the 1st Division of the Mediterranean Squadron in 1890, along with the two Amiral Baudin-class ironclads. During the 1890 fleet maneuvers, the ship served in the 1st Division of the 1st Squadron of the Mediterranean Fleet. At the time, the division also included the ironclads Courbet and . The ships concentrated off Oran, French Algeria on 22 June and then proceeded to Brest, France, arriving there on 2 July for combined operations with the ships of the Northern Squadron. The exercises began four days later and concluded on 25 July, after which Amiral Duperré and the rest of the Mediterranean Fleet returned to Toulon.