Océan class ship of the line

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


1/12th-scale model of the Océan at the Musée national de la Marine in Paris
Class overview
Name: Océan
Builders: Plans by Jacques-Noël Sané
Operators: Naval flag of France French Navy
Preceded by: Tonnant class ship of the line
Succeeded by: Commerce de Paris class
Subclasses: Souverain class
In commission: 1788 - 1882
Completed: 16
General characteristics
Type: ship of the line
Displacement:

5,098 tonnes (before conversion to steam),

Ville de Paris in 1858: 5,302 tonnes
Length:

65.18 metres (196.6 French feet),

Ville de Paris in 1858: 69.05 meters
Beam: 16.24 meters (50 French feet)
Draught: 8.12 meters (25 French feet)
Propulsion: sail, 3,265 m²
Speed: 10 knots
Complement: 1,079 - 1,130 men
Armament:

124-136 guns in total: Lower deck: 32 36-pound guns
middle deck: 34 24-pound guns
upper deck: 34 12-pound guns

forecastle: 18 (Orient: 20, Austerlitz and later ships: 14) 8-pound guns, 6 (Ocean: 4, Austerlitz and later ships 12, Austerlitz and Montebello in 1820: 20) 36-pound carronades
Armour: Timber
Notes: Ships in class include: Commerce de Marseille, Océan, L'Orient, Le Majestueux, L'Impérial, Austerlitz, Wagram, Royal-Louis, Montebello, Héros, Souverain, Trocadéro, Friedland, Ville-de-Paris, Louis-XIV, Roi de Rome (never launched)

The Océan-type ships of the line were a series of 16 first-rate 118-gun ships of the line of the French navy, designed by engineer Jacques-Noël Sané. Fifteen were completed from 1788 on, with the last one entering service in 1854. The first of the series was the Commerce de Marseille.

The 5,100 ton 118-gun type was the largest type of ship built up to then. Up to 1790 Great Britain, the largest of the battle fleet nations, had not built especially large battleships because the need for large numbers of ships had influenced its battleship policy. The French initiated a new phase in battleship competition when they laid down a large number of three-deckers of around 5,000 tons. [1]

It was to become one of the three French standard types of battleships during the war period 1793 to 1815.

These were the most powerful ships of the Napoleonic Wars and a total of ten served during that time. These ships, however, were quite expensive in terms of building materials, artillery and manpower and so were reserved for admirals as their fleet flagships.

Some of the ships spent 40 years on the stocks and were still in service in 1860, three of them having been equipped with auxiliary steam engines in the 1850s.

Contents

[edit] Design

The Commerce de Marseille was designed by the engineer Jacques-Noël Sané, who was nicknamed "The Naval Vauban", and marks a step in the evolution of ship of the line design. All further French sail battleships were inspired from her plans. The hull was simple with straight lines, minimal ornaments, and curved sides. The rear was almost integrated into the hull.

The masts were both thinner and higher, but also stronger than the 18th century designs. The aft sail of the mizzen had taken its definitive shape around 1780; Topgallant sails were common, which allowed to vary the surface of sails according to the wind with more subtlety. This allowed to evolve closer to the direction opposed to the wind. The speed, however, remained low, since the hull were gross and tended to drift.

They were highly successful as gun platforms and sailers, a fact which indicates that great improvements had been made in warship design since the late 17th century when battleships of less than half their size were regarded as unwieldy giants which ought to be brought into harbour before the September gales began. However, at least the first two of this class appear to have had less strength than necessary - one (Commerce de Marseille) which was taken by the British in 1793, was never used by them, and the other (Ocean) had to be extensively rebuilt after a decade. This indicates that the growth in size of wooden warships caused structural problems which only gradually were solved. [1]

It is interesting to note that though these ships were costly, their design changed to become even larger in terms of overall tonnage with the introduction of the Impérial in 1803. Mounting 18 pound cannon on her third gun deck (unheard of in French three-decked ships of the period), she would set the example for all of the French 118 gun ships to follow.

[edit] Ships of the type

(listed under their final names and in order of their launching dates)

  1. Commerce de Marseille: launched at Toulon in 1788; captured by the English in Toulon on the 29th of August 1793 and commissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Commerce de Marseille. Converted to a floating prison in February 1799, and scrapped in 1802.
  2. Océan: built at Brest as États de Bourgogne, launched and entered service in 1790, renamed Montagne in 1793 and Ocean in 1795, disarmed in 1854 and stricken in 1855. [2]
  3. L'Orient: laid down at Toulon as Dauphin Royal and launched in 1791, renamed Sans Culotte in 1792 and L´Orient in 1798; blew up at the Nile in 1798
  4. Le Majestueux: laid down in 1794 at Rochefort as République française and launched in 1802. Renamed to Le Majestueux in 1803. Scrapped in 1839.
  5. L'Impérial: laid down as Peuple at Brest in 1794, renamed to Vengeur in 1794 and to l'Impérial in 1803, launched in 1803. Captured during the Battle of San Domingo on the 6th of February 1806 and destroyed by fire.
  6. Austerlitz: launched in 1808 at Toulon. Scrapped in 1837.
  7. Wagram: laid down as Monarque at Toulon; launched and renamed to Wagram in 1810. Scrapped in 1836.
  8. Impérial: launched 1811 at Toulon as Impérial, renamed to Royal-Louis in April 1814, renamed Impérial March 1815, renamed Royal Louis July 1815, condemned 1825 at Toulon and scrapped.
  9. Montebello: laid down in 1810, launched in 1812 at Toulon. Transferred to the gunnery school in 1860 and to the navigation school in 1865. Stricken in 1867. Scrapped in 1889. [2]
  10. Héros: launched in 1813 at Toulon. Scrapped in 1828.
  11. Souverain: laid down in Toulon in 1813, launched in 1819. Converted to sail/steam and entered service in 1857. Used as gunnery training vessel from 1860. Stricken in 1867. Hulk scrapped in 1905. [2]
  12. Trocadéro: laid down in 1813 at Toulon as Le Formidable, renamed to Trocadéro in 1823, launched in 1824. Destroyed in an accidental fire in 1836.
  13. Friedland: laid down as L'Inflexibe in 1812, Renamed to Duc-de-Bordeau in 1821 and to Friedland in 1830. Launched in 1840 at Cherbourg. Entered service in 1840. Conversion to dual sail/steam ship started in 1857 but was abandoned and ship laid up without engine in 1858. Stricken in 1864. hulk renamed Colosse in 1865 and scrapped in 1879. [2]
  14. Ville-de-Paris: laid down in 1806 at Rochefort as Marengo; renamed to Ville-de-Vienne in 1807, Comte-d'Artois in 1814, and Ville-de-Paris in 1830. Launched in 1850. Entered Service in 1851, Converted to a dual sail/steam ship in 1858, engine removed and converted to transport in 1870. Stricken in 1882; hulk used as floating barracks until scrapped in 1898. [2]
  15. Louis-XIV: laid down as Le Tonnant in 1811 at Rochefort; renamed to Louis-XIV in 1828, launched in 1854. Entered service in 1854. Converted to a dual sail/steam ship in 1857. Transferred to the gunnery training school in 1861. Out of service 1873, stricken in 1880, scrapped in 1882. [2]
  16. Roi-de-Rome: laid down in 1811 at Brest. Cancelled in 1816 without having been launched.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Jan Glete: Navies and Nations, 1993 ISBN 9122015655
  2. ^ a b c d e f (French) Dossiers marine (retrieved 26.09.2007)

[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: