Montebello was an Océan type 118-gun ship of the line of the French Navy

French Navy

The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...

. She was launched in 1812 and refitted in 1821.

In 1851, she was refitted to receive a 140 shp steam engine

Steam engine

A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...

. During trials, performance under sail was poor, probably because of the propeller which increased the drag.

She took part in the Crimean war

Crimean War

The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...

 as admiral Armand Joseph Bruat

Armand Joseph Bruat

Armand Joseph Bruat was a French admiral.- Biography :Bruat joined the French Navy in 1811, at the height of the Napoleonic Wars. His early career included far-ranging sea duties: in 1815, he served in Brazil and the West Indies. From 1817 to 1820 he was with French forces in the Levant...

's flagship, in June 1854. An epidemic of cholera

Cholera

Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...

 affected 300 sailors aboard, of whom 120 died, including Bruat.

On 5 March 1855 she took part in the siege of Siege of Sevastopol, then in the expedition to Kerch

Kerch

Kerch is a city on the Kerch Peninsula of eastern Crimea, an important industrial, transport and tourist centre of Ukraine. Kerch, founded 2600 years ago, is considered as one of the most ancient cities in Ukraine.-Ancient times:...

 and in the Battle of Kinburn

Battle of Kinburn (1855)

The Battle of Kinburn/Kil-Bouroun was a naval engagement during the final stage of the Crimean War. It took place on the tip of the Kinburn Peninsula on 17 October 1855...

.

In 1860 Montebello replaced Suffren

French ship Suffren (1824)

The Suffren was a 90-gun Ship of the line of the French Navy named in honour of Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez, lead ship of her class.The Suffren was the first ship of the line built with straight sides....

at Toulon as a school-ship for gunnery, and in 1867, she was used as a floating barracks. She was scrapped in 1889.