The Pacificateur was an 80-gun Bucentaure-class

Bucentaure class ship of the line

The Bucentaure class was a class of 80-gun French ships of the line built to a design by Jacques-Noël Sané from 1802 onwards, of which at least 29 were ordered but only 21 ships were launched...

 80-gun ship of the line

Ship of the line

A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...

 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...

, designed by Sané

Sane

Sane is an English word meaning "of sound mind"; see Sanity.Sane or SANE may also refer to:* Sane Ancient Greek city* An archaeological site and a modern name of Sani, Greece*Sane, Mali...

. She is notable for being the first ship to sustain damage from Paixhans shells.

Commissioned in Anvers in 1814, Pacificateur remained anchored at the entrance of the harbour to protect it until the Bourbon Restauration. In September 1814, she arrived in Brest, where she stayed until she was condemned, in 1824.

For her disposal, it was decided to use Pacificateur to test new 22 cm canon-obusiers

Canon obusier

The Canon-obusier was a type of cannon developed by France in the 1850s. The canon-obusier was a smoothbore cannon using either shells, balls or canisters, and was therefore a vast improvement over previous cannon firing metal balls, such as the Gribeauval system.The very first canon-obusiers...

 invented by Henri-Joseph Paixhans

Henri-Joseph Paixhans

Henri-Joseph Paixhans was a French artillery officer of the beginning of the 19th century.Henri-Joseph Paixhans graduated from the École Polytechnique...

. The wooden sides of Pacificateur sustained devastating damages from the explosive shell, starting the decline of wooden warships and rise of the ironclads.