in individual mounts. Her armament was rounded out with four torpedo tubes in above-water mounts. Two tubes were carried on each broadside, one pair ahead and one pair astern. The ship was protected with wrought iron armor; her belt extended for the entire length of the hull from above the waterline to below. It was thick amidships, tapering to on the bottom edge, while the bow and stern were protected by at the waterline. A lower section extended down at the bow to reinforce the ram. An armor deck connected to the belt at its top and was of mild steel on a layer of plating. The barbettes for the main battery were thick and the supporting tubes were ; the gun shields were . Her conning tower had of mild steel on the sides. Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships notes that "she was very vulnerable above [the waterline] and would not have stood much chance against ." Modifications During a refit in 1887, the number of 37 mm guns was increased to eighteen. An additional pair of search lights was fitted as well. In 1892, three of her main battery guns were replaced with the slightly longer 21-caliber M1881 variant of the 340 mm gun, though she retained one of the shorter, original weapons. The light battery was expanded significantly with a pair of guns, two 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns, and sixteen 37 mm guns. The torpedo tubes were updated to the M1885 model. By 1895, the old 340 mm gun was replaced with an updated version, and the 138.6 mm guns were replaced with new guns. The 47 mm guns were removed and four more 65 mm guns were added. She also had her masts reduced to two, which were fitted with two fighting tops apiece. Amiral Duperré was withdrawn from service in 1901 to be modernized, along with many other French capital ships of the period. The ship received new water-tube boilers and her engines were overhauled. The center 340 mm gun and its barbette were removed, and an armored battery of 163 mm guns was installed in their place. Service history Construction – 1889 The keel for Amiral Duperré was laid down at the shipyard in La Seyne-sur-Mer outside of Toulon in January 1877. The new ship was to be named for Admiral Guy-Victor Duperré. She was launched on 11 September 1879 and fitting-out work on