Villars was the lead ship of the of unprotected cruisers built for the French Navy in the 1870s. The ships were designed for service in the French colonial empire, and they carried a relatively heavy battery of fifteen guns, and could steam at a speed of . Villars was laid down in 1875 and was completed in 1881. She saw significant service in East Asia in the early to mid-1880s during France's campaign to secure a colony in Tonkin (now Vietnam) and the Sino-French War that began as a direct result of France's interference in what Qing China viewed as a traditional subordinate country. During the latter conflict, she saw action at the Battle of Fuzhou, where she assisted in the destruction of three Chinese cruisers, and later participated in the blockade of Formosa. The rest of the ship's career passed relatively uneventfully, and in 1896, she was struck from the naval register and thereafter sold for scrap.
Design
The four ships of the were ordered under the auspices of the naval plan of 1872, which was laid out to modernize the French Navy in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871. The navy sought new unprotected cruisers that carried a heavier armament than earlier vessels, while maintaining a similar size to keep costs from increasing during a period of limited naval budgets. The design for the ships was drawn up by Victorin Sabattier. The vessels were intended to serve overseas in the French colonial empire.
Villars was long at the waterline, with a beam of and an average draft of . She displaced as designed. The ship had a ram bow and an overhanging stern. Her crew amounted to 269 officers and enlisted men. The ship's propulsion system consisted of a single compound steam engine driving a screw propeller. Steam was provided by six coal-burning fire-tube boilers that were ducted into a single funnel. Her machinery was rated to produce for a top speed of . At a more economical speed of , the ship could steam for .
The ship was armed with a main battery of fifteen M1870M 21.3-caliber guns. Two were placed in the forecastle, firing through embrasures as chase guns, one was atop the stern, and the remainder were placed in an amidships battery on the upper deck, six guns per broadside. Of the broadside guns, the forward three on each side were placed in sponsons, while the remaining three guns were in pivot mounts firing through embrasures. A pair of Hotchkiss revolver cannon provided close-range defense against torpedo boats. She also carried a pair of bronze mountain guns or a single field gun that could be sent ashore with a landing party.
Service history
Villars was laid down at the (Cherbourg Naval Base) on 9 July 1875, and she was launched on 21 August 1879. She was commissioned to begin sea trials in 1881, including full power testing carried out on 10 June. Her testing was completed in early July that year, and on 10 July, she was reduced to the 2nd category of reserve. She was recommissioned on 20 January 1882 for a deployment to what was to become French Indochina in East Asia. At that time, the unit also included the ironclad , the unprotected cruisers and , and the gunboat , and the unit was commanded by Rear Admiral Charles Meyer. Tensions in the region had risen considerably, particularly after the Battle of Hanoi in April. As a result, significant reinforcements under Rear Admiral Amédée Courbet were dispatched in early 1883 to strengthen French naval forces in the area as the Tonkin campaign got underway. With the arrival of Courbet's reinforcements, the unit was re-designated the Far East Squadron. In April, Villars contributed a landing party to reinforce the unit commanded by Henri Rivière at Hanoi. The men were later involved in the Battle of Paper Bridge in May.