French cruiser Protet (original) (raw)

Protet was a protected cruiser of the French Navy built in the 1890s, the second and final member of the Catinat class. The Catinat-class cruisers were ordered as part of a construction program directed at strengthening the fleet's cruiser force at a time when the country was concerned with the growing naval threat of the Italian and German fleets. The new cruisers were intended to serve with the main fleet and overseas in the French colonial empire. Protet was armed with a main battery of four 164 mm (6.5 in) guns, was protected by an armor deck that was 25 to 60 mm (0.98 to 2.36 in) thick, and was capable of steaming at a top speed of up to 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).