La Victorieuse
Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 5:44 pm
A well-designed air stamp issued by Peru has, oddly enough, an old wooden-built French battleship as a subject. The stamp is one of a set commemorating a French exhibition held at Lima last September-October. The warship and her commander, Admiral Dupeltit Thouars, played an important part in preventing Lima from being sacked and pillaged during the war between Peru and Chile of 1879-82, thus the design is appropriate for the occasion. The warship, La Victorieuse, was classified as a cuirasse de croisere and built at Toulon in 1875. She had a central battery and barbette, and displaced 4,176 tons on dimensions of 258.2ft. x 48.9ft. x 22.5ft. This singular warship had a wooden hull protected by a 6-in, armour-plated belt. Her principal armament consisted of six, 24-c.m. 16-ton guns; one 19-c.m. 8-ton gun and six of 14-c.m.
SG800 Sea Breezes 1/58