French ship Jupiter (1789)

Scale model of Achille, sister ship of French ship Jupiter (1789), on display at the Musée national de la Marine in Paris.
History
France
NameJupiter
Namesake
Ordered19 August 1787
BuilderBrest
Laid downJune 1788
Launched4 November 1789
CommissionedAugust 1790
Decommissioned1807
Renamed
  • Montagnard in 1794
  • Démocrate on 18 May 1795
  • Jupiter on 30 May 1795
  • Batave on 27 April 1798
FateBroken up in Brest in 1807
General characteristics
Class & typeTéméraire-class ship of the line
Displacement3,069 tonneaux
Tons burthen1,537 port tonneaux
Length55.87 m (183 ft 4 in)
Beam14.46 m (47 ft 5 in)
Draught7.15 m (23.5 ft)
Depth of hold7.15 m (23 ft 5 in)
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Crew705
Armament

Jupiter was a 4th rank, 74-gun Téméraire-class ship of the line built for the French Navy during the 1780s. Completed in 1790, she played a minor role in the French Revolutionary Wars.

Description

The Téméraire-class ships had an length of 55.87 metres (183 ft 4 in), a beam of 14.46 metres (47 ft 5 in) and a depth of hold of 7.15 metres (23 ft 5 in). The ships displaced 3,069 tonneaux and had a mean draught of 7.15 metres (23 ft 5 in). They had a tonnage of 1,537 port tonneaux. Their crew numbered 705 officers and ratings during wartime. They were fitted with three masts and ship rigged.[1]

The muzzle-loading, smoothbore armament of the Téméraire class consisted of twenty-eight 36-pounder long guns on the lower gun deck, thirty 18-pounder long guns and thirty 18-pounder long guns on the upper gun deck. On the quarterdeck and forecastle were a total of sixteen 8-pounder long guns. Beginning with the ships completed after 1787, the armament of the Téméraires began to change with the addition of four 36-pounder obusiers on the poop deck (dunette). Some ships had instead twenty 8-pounders.[2]

Construction and career

Jupiter was ordered on 19 October 1787 and laid down at the Arsenal de Rochefort in June 1788. The ship was launched on 4 November 1789 and completed in October 1790.[3] In 1790, under Captain Belugat, Jupiter was part of the 1st Division of the Brest squadron, under Du Chilleau de La Roche, along with Apollon and the 32-gun frigate Surveillante, under Sarcé.[4] In August 1790, Captain Gouzillon de Bélizal took command, which he retained until 1791.[5]

Between 1791 and 1793, Jupiter was based in Saint-Domingue. In March 1794, she was renamed Montagnard. On 29 May, during the May 1794 Atlantic campaign, she encountered a British squadron; in the ensuing engagement, she sustained damage which prevented her from taking part in the subsequent battle of the Glorious First of June itself. The ship was renamed Démocrate on 18 May 1795, and back to Jupiter on 30 May. On 7 August, she took part in the recapture from the British of Censeur. The ship was renamed Batave on 27 April 1798. The next year, she took part in the Croisière de Bruix. Condemned in 1807, she was broken up in Brest.[6]

Citations

  1. ^ Winfield & Roberts, p. 87
  2. ^ Winfield & Roberts, pp. 87–88
  3. ^ Winfield & Roberts, p. 89
  4. ^ Du Chilleau, p. 10
  5. ^ Rouxel, Jean-Christophe. "André Marie GOUZILLON de BELIZAL". Parcours de vie dans la Royale. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  6. ^ Roche, p. 270

References

  • Du Chilleau, Alex (1815). Au Roi. Exposé des services du contre-amiral Mis Du Chilleau. Paris: Leblanc.
  • Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours [Dictionary of French Warships from Colbert to Today]. Vol. 1: 1671-1870. Roche. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.
  • 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