Talk:List of icebreaker classes of the Navy of Burgundie

In the mid-1200s some Bergendii merchants built clinker-built artic trading vessels for year round trade with the Finnic peoples of the islands of Wintergen and Koskenkorva. These sailing ships were small and some were fixed with embolon, but these were phased out and the skin-planking was considered sufficient. Under the Faneriai protectorate, the trade routes tended to be more southerly and the production of artic trading vessels fell out of fashion.

At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century the need for military icebreakers was explored and the Plectrophane class colonial aviso was ordered to act as an all-weather armed exploration/supply ship. The 3 ships of the class La Plectrophane , La Nivalis, and La Insulæ were built between 1898 and 1902 and followed the principles of the artic trading vessels of the 13th and 14th centuries. Their rounded lines below the waterlines allowed them to be pushed about closing icefloes. They also included some modern technology like hydraulic harpoons and steam winches to help portaging/dragging across the ice sheet in areas that it couldn’t break through. The Plectrophane class remained the only icebreakers in service in Burgundie until the outbreak of the Great War.