French battleship Neptune was a Marceau-class ironclad of the French Navy, launched in 1892. She served during the late 19th-century transition from ironclads to pre-dreadnought battleships, taking part in fleet exercises and Mediterranean service. Rapid advances in naval technology soon made her obsolete, and Neptune was withdrawn from frontline service before World War I and later scrapped. #WW1 #ship #military #navy | I love Warships

The French ironclad Marceau looks weird due to a combination of a unique "diamond" main gun arrangement, an extreme "tumblehome" hull design, and the constraints of being an outdated design by the time it was completed. The diamond layout, with guns on the centerline and in wing positions, allowed for heavy broadsides and a strong chase/retreat fire arc. However, the long construction delays meant the Marceau class was obsolete upon commissioning, superseded by new pre-dreadnoughts, which explai