French ship Mont Saint-Bernard (1811)

Mont Saint-Bernard fitted with Ship Camels
History
France
NameMont Saint-Bernard
BuilderVenice
Laid down1808
Launched9 June 1811
Stricken20 April 1814
FateBurnt, 1814
General characteristics
Class & typepetit Téméraire-class ship of the line
Displacement2,781 tonneaux
Tons burthen1,381 port tonneaux
Length53.97 m (177 ft 1 in)
Beam14.29 m (46 ft 11 in)
Draught6.72 m (22.0 ft)
Depth of hold6.9 m (22 ft 8 in)
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Crew705
Armament

Mont Saint-Bernard was a 4th rank, 74-gun petite Téméraire-class ship of the line built for the French Navy during the first decade of the 19th century. Completed in 1811, she played a minor role in the Napoleonic Wars.

Background and description

Mont Saint Bernard was one of the petit modèle of the Téméraire class that was specially intended for construction in some of the shipyards in countries occupied by the French, where there was less depth of water than in the main French shipyards.[1] The ships had an length of 53.97 metres (177 ft 1 in), a beam of 14.29 metres (46 ft 11 in) and a depth of hold of 6.9 metres (22 ft 8 in). The ships displaced 2,781 tonneaux and had a mean draught of 6.72 metres (22 ft 1 in). They had a tonnage of 1,381 port tonneaux. Their crew numbered 705 officers and ratings during wartime. They were fitted with three masts and ship rigged.[2]

The muzzle-loading, smoothbore armament of the Téméraire class consisted of twenty-eight 36-pounder long guns on the lower gun deck and thirty 18-pounder long guns on the upper gun deck. The petit modèle ships ordered in 1803–1804 were intended to mount sixteen 8-pounder long guns on their forecastle and quarterdeck, plus four 36-pounder obusiers on the poop deck (dunette). Later ships were intended to have fourteen 8-pounders and ten 36-pounder carronades without any obusiers, but the numbers of 8-pounders and carronades actually varied between a total of 20 to 26 weapons.[2]

Construction and career

Mont Saint-Bernard was ordered on 4 January 1807 and laid down on 14 March at the Venetian Arsenal. The ship was launched on 9 June 1811, commissioned on 18 October and completed in December. She was captured on 20 April 1814 by the Austrian Empire, but was burned by accident on 14 September.[3][4]

Citations

  1. ^ Winfield & Roberts, p. 94
  2. ^ a b Winfield & Roberts, p. 95
  3. ^ Winfield & Roberts, p. 96
  4. ^ Roche, p. 314

References

Media related to Mont Saint-Bernard (ship, 1811) at Wikimedia Commons

  • 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