of 1890, laying down a series of experimental pre-dreadnoughts beginning with that year. General characteristics The Amiral Baudin-class ships were long between perpendiculars, long at the waterline, and long overall. They had a beam of and a draft of . They displaced . The ships had a fairly minimal superstructure, with a light conning tower with an open bridge. They were fitted with a pair of pole masts equipped with spotting tops for their main battery guns. The hull was constructed with transverse and longitudinal steel frames and had a double bottom to reduce the risk of flooding. The hull featured a pronounced tumblehome shape common to French capital ships of the period, and they incorporated a ram bow. Their crews consisted of 625 officers and enlisted men. Steering was controlled by a single rudder. The ships were difficult to maneuver and they rolled badly in service, particularly in a beam sea, making them poor gun platforms. The ships' propulsion machinery consisted of a pair of two-shaft, vertical compound steam engines that each drove a screw propeller. The engines were placed in separate engine rooms, divided by a watertight bulkhead. Steam for the engines was provided by twelve coal-burning fire-tube boilers, which were split into four watertight boiler rooms and were ducted into a single, large funnel just aft of the conning tower. Amiral Baudins engines were rated to produce under normal conditions and up to at forced draft, for a top speed of , while Formidable received more powerful equipment rated for with forced draft, allowing her to reach . In service, Formidable was only capable of reaching a maximum of , while Amiral Baudin reached a maximum speed of on her initial trials in 1888. Coal storage amounted to . The ships were capable of steaming for at a cruising speed of . Armament and armor The ships' main armament consisted of three 370 mm, 28-caliber M1875–79 breechloading guns mounted in individual barbette mounts, one forward, one amidships, and one aft, all on the centerline. These had been modified from the original M1875 gun to use a new propellant that burned slower than traditional black powder, producing higher muzzle velocity and improved penetration. They had a very slow rate of fire, taking ten minutes to reload after every shot, common for guns of the era. By 1895, the rate of fire had been improved to one shot every