The Dévastation class were authorized under the naval construction Program of 1872, which began with the ironclad Redoutable that year.

The resulting design was ordered for two vessels, Dévastation and Courbet, which were the largest central battery ships ever built by any navy.

The ship had a cruising radius of 3,100 nautical miles (5,700 km; 3,600 mi) at an economical speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).

[6] For defense against torpedo boats, she carried twelve 37 mm (1.5 in) 1-pounder Hotchkiss revolver cannon, all in individual mounts.

[4] The ship was protected with wrought iron armor; her belt was 178 to 381 mm (7 to 15 in) thick and extended for the entire length of the hull.

More extensive work was carried out in 1897, when the ship received a new, larger conning tower with 80 mm (3.1 in) of armor plate on the sides.

The light guns that had been present in her upper fighting tops were removed, as were the two forward torpedo tubes.

The Navy had intended to completely rearm the ship, but a change in naval ministers led to a shift in priorities, so the alterations to the main and secondary batteries were deferred.

[9] Originally named Foudroyant ("Lightning"), she was renamed to honor Admiral Amédée Courbet on 25 June 1885,[8] who had died of cholera after leading French naval forces through much of the Sino-French War.

The exercises concluded with a simulated amphibious landing at Hyères carried out by the enemy squadron on 6 July, which the defending force was unable to prevent.

The enemy squadron conducted a simulated attack on Toulon that night, but poor weather prevented further operations and the maneuvers were cancelled later on the 24th.

Courbet served in the 1st Division of the 1st Squadron, which also included Amiral Duperré, the ironclad Formidable, the protected cruisers Sfax and Forbin, and four smaller torpedo craft.

A series of mechanical problems and accidents plagued the vessels of the combined fleet; on 22 July, Courbet's rudder broke off and the ship was out of action for a day while repairs were carried out.

Three days later, Courbet had to come to the assistance of the torpedo gunboat Dague, which was unable to steam after the feed pump for her boilers broke down.

[22] Courbet was docked in Toulon in 1894 for modernization,[23] which included the replacement of her six old 140 mm guns with ten new model weapons of the same caliber.

[24] Courbet remained in service with the Mediterranean Fleet through 1895, by which time the unit consisted of Dévastation, the two Amiral Baudins, and the three Marceaus, along with several cruisers and torpedo vessels.

[26] On 13 November 1895, while the fleet was steaming into Hyères, Formidable turned too widely and led the line of ironclads into shallow water.

[15] In 1901, Courbet again served with the Northern Squadron, along with Hoche, the two Amiral Baudins, and the pre-dreadnoughts Carnot, Masséna, and Iéna.

[34] In early 1902, the Northern Squadron was reorganized, leaving Courbet, Masséna, and Formidable in the unit that year, along with four coastal defense ships.

[35] During the 1902 fleet maneuvers, which began on 7 July, the Northern Squadron attempted to force a passage through the Strait of Gibraltar.