French ship Commerce de Marseille (1788)
1⁄48th scale model on display at Marseille maritime museum
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
| France | |
| Name | Commerce de Marseille |
| Namesake | Marseille |
| Ordered | 1786[1] |
| Builder | Arsenal de Toulon |
| Laid down | September 1786[2] or April 1787[3] |
| Launched | 7 August 1788[2] |
| Completed | October 1790 |
| Stricken | 1802 |
| Captured | Seized as prize by Great Britain, 29 August 1793 |
| United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Commerce de Marseille |
| Fate | Scrapped, 1802 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Océan-class ship of the line |
| Displacement | 5,098 t (5,017 long tons) |
| Tons burthen | 2,794–2,930 tonnes |
| Length | 63.83 m (209 ft 5 in) (gun deck) |
| Beam | 16.24 m (53 ft 3 in) |
| Draught | 8.15 m (26 ft 9 in) |
| Propulsion | sail, 3,250 m2 (35,000 sq ft) |
| Sail plan | full-rigged ship |
| Complement | 1,117 |
| Armament |
|
Commerce de Marseille was a 118-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, lead ship[note 1] of the Océan class. She was funded by a don des vaisseaux donation from the chamber of commerce of Marseille.
Description
The Océan-class ships had an length of 63.83 metres (209 ft 5 in) at the gun deck a beam of 16.24 metres (53 ft 3 in) and a depth of hold of 8.12 metres (26 ft 8 in). The ships displaced 5,095 tonnes (5,015 long tons) and had a mean draught of 8.15 metres (26 ft 9 in). They had a tonnage of 2,794–2,930 tons burthen. Their crew numbered 1,117 officers and ratings. They were fitted with three masts and ship rigged with a sail area of 3,250 square metres (35,000 sq ft).[4]
The muzzle-loading, smoothbore armament of the Océan class consisted of thirty-two 36-pounder long guns on the lower gun deck, thirty-four 24-pounder long guns on the middle gun deck and on the upper gundeck were thirty-four 12-pounder long guns. On the quarterdeck and forecastle were a total of eighteen 8-pounder long guns and six 30-pounder obusiers.[5]
Career
Commerce de Marseille was laid down at the Arsenal de Toulon in September 1786, launched on 7 August 1788 and completed in October 1790.[5] Built with state-of-the-art plans by Jacques-Noël Sané, she was dubbed the "finest ship of the century". Her construction was difficult because of a lack of wood, and soon after her completion, she was disarmed in 18 December 1793.[2]
The ship came under British control during the Siege of Toulon on 29 August 1793. When the city fell to the French in December, she evacuated the harbour for Portsmouth. She was briefly used as a stores ship, but on a journey to the Caribbean Sea, in 1795, she was badly damaged in a storm and had to limp back to Portsmouth. She remained there as a hulk until she was broken up in February 1802.[2][5]
Notes
Citations
References
- "Le vaisseau trois-ponts l’Océan", Jean Boudriot, in Neptunia n° 102 (1971), page 21.
- Demerliac, Alain (2004). La Marine de Louis XVI: Nomenclature des Navires Français de 1774 à 1792 (in French). Éditions Ancre. ISBN 2-906381-23-3.
- Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. Vol. 1. Roche. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922. (1671-1870)
- Winfield, Rif and Roberts, Stephen S. (2015) French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786-1861: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-204-2