Overview
Invincible was one of three wooden-hulled Gloire-class armored frigates built for the French Navy at the beginning of the sea-going ironclad era.
Invincible is associated with France and French Navy. It belonged to Gloire class, so the class page provides the shared design history while this page concentrates on the individual ship.
Construction and identity
The available construction record identifies Invincible as built by Arsenal de Toulon, laid down on 1858-05-01, launched on 1861-04-04, and completed on 1862-03.
The ship's documented identity includes service with French Navy.
Service history
Invincible was the second Gloire-class armored frigate and served mainly with the French Mediterranean fleet.
The ship's configuration should be interpreted through the documented class and the dates attached to this individual vessel; equipment should not be assumed to have remained unchanged throughout service.
Class context: Gloire class
The Gloire class documented the next step beyond coastal armored batteries: a sea-going armored frigate capable of operating with a fleet. Designed under French naval engineer Henri Dupuy de Lôme, Gloire combined a wooden hull with iron armor and steam propulsion.
As a member of Gloire class, Invincible shared the class's documented design framework and intended roles of Fleet combatant. Individual refits, transfers, and wartime changes belong to this ship only when separately documented.
Later service and disposition
Removed from French Navy service and later broken up. The associated date is 1872.
Invincible matters as an individual career within Gloire class, allowing class-wide design history to be separated from this ship's own construction, identities, service, and fate.
Class relationship
This ship is recorded as a member of Gloire class. Shared design history belongs on the class page; this page concentrates on the individual hull where evidence is available.
Sources and further reading
- Machines of the Seas: The (Extraordinary) Inventions of Henri Dupuy de Lôme ↗Musée national de la Marine · accessed 2026-09-18
- Gloire-class ironclad ↗Wikipedia contributors · accessed 2026-09-18
- HMS Warrior (1860); Warship; Frigate; Broadside ironclad ↗Royal Museums Greenwich · accessed 2026-09-18
- N° 1023 La Gloire — extract from Musée de Marine 1909 catalogue ↗Herrero / reproduced Musée de Marine catalogue entry · accessed 2026-09-18