The French torpedo boat Audacieux (length 147 feet 9 inches at the waterline, beam 16 feet 11 inches, draught 5 feet 2 inches; displacement 113 tons, normal, 183 tons, full load) had been sent to Lorient for her trials. Considerable interest had been expressed in the Audacieux because she had a 1-inch thick armour belt protecting her machinery, making her the smallest ironclad in the world at that time.