The Alma-class ironclads[Note 1] were designed as improved versions of the armored corvette Belliqueuse, suited for foreign deployments.

Unlike their predecessor, the Alma-class ships were true central battery ironclads as they were fitted with armored transverse bulkheads.

[4] Reine Blanche had a complete 150-millimeter (5.9 in) wrought iron waterline belt, approximately 2.4 meters (7.9 ft) high.

[5] During the Cantonal Revolution Reine Blanche and her sister Thétis spent much of September–October 1873 in the port of Cartagena, Spain, where they could protect French citizens.

[5] On 3 July 1877,[5] she was accidentally rammed by Thétis off the Îles d'Hyères, Var and had to be run ashore to prevent her from sinking.

From 5–16 July 1881 Reine Blanche bombarded the Tunisian port of Sfax as part of the French occupation of Tunisia.

[9] The ship was named as the flagship of the Pacific Squadron on 20 January 1884 under command of Rear Admiral Franquet, but she returned to Cherbourg on 22 May 1884 with worn-out boilers and her hull in poor shape.