Taureau was the first ironclad coastal defence ship (garde-côtes cuirassé) built for the French Navy (Marine Nationale).

The vessel was temporarily commissioned on 20 July 1870, ready to be deployed in the English Channel during the Franco-Prussian War, but saw no action.

Initially, she was ordered as a screw-powered turret ship for the defence of roadsteads (batterie à hélice et à tour pour la defense des rades), but this was changed to Special project (Bâtiment spécial) in the January 1864 fleet list due to the unique nature of her design.

As her launch date approached, she was given the same classification as monitors, coastal guard ship (garde-côtes cuirassé) in January 1865.

As designed, the vessel was to also have a fixed forward-facing turret with two 240 mm (9.4 in) Modèle 1864 rifled breech-loading guns that were to be used to clear the way for the ram to strike.

The curved sides of a metal shell rose above the armoured hull as a wall to protect from boarding.

In coastal waters, Taureau proved to be highly manoeuvrable, able to turn in place by driving one shaft forward and the other in reverse.

[9] At the same time, the use of the ram as a weapon of war was also losing favour and the specialised nature of the ship meant she was no longer considered a capable front-line battleship.