In 1867 France purchased the wooden hulled casemate ironclad Dunderberg (7849 t, 14.5 kn).
Napoleon III decided to buy her over objections of his own navy after
Prussia expressed interest in buying Dunderberg. After delivery she was
renamed Rochambeau, overhauled and equipped with new ram bow and French
270 and 240mm guns. Among other problems, she was very wet ship and
built of unseasoned timber, so her hull was prone to rotting.
She was placed in reserve, but after beginning of Franco-Prussian War
in 1870 she was activated and participated in fruitless cruising of
French Fleet in Baltic Sea. Rochambeau was stricken in 1872 and scrapped
in 1874.