Océan class ship of the line
Encyclopedia
The Océan-type ships of the line were a series of 16 first-rate
First-rate
First rate was the designation used by the Royal Navy for its largest ships of the line. While the size and establishment of guns and men changed over the 250 years that the rating system held sway, from the early years of the eighteenth century the first rates comprised those ships mounting 100...
118-gun ships 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 engineer Jacques-Noël Sané
Jacques-Noël Sané
Jacques-Noël Sané was a French naval engineer, one of the most successful shipbuilders of the Age of Sail.Sané studied under Duhamel du Monceau...
. Fifteen were completed from 1788 on, with the last one entering service in 1854. The first of the series was the Commerce de Marseille.
The 5,100 ton 118-gun type was the largest type of ship built up to then, besting the Spanish ship Santísima Trinidad. Up to 1790 Great Britain, the largest of the battle fleet nations, had not built especially large battleships because the need for large numbers of ships had influenced its battleship policy. The French initiated a new phase in battleship competition when they laid down a large number of three-deckers of around 5,000 tons.
Along with the 74-gun of the Téméraire type
Téméraire class ship of the line
The Téméraire class ships of the line was a class of 107 74-gun ships of the line built between 1782 and 1813 for the French navy. The type was and remains the most numerous class of capital ship ever built....
and the 80-gun of the Tonnant type
Tonnant class ship of the line
The Tonnant Class was a class of eight 80-gun ships of the line designed in 1787 by Jacques-Noël Sané. From 1802 a new group was begun of slightly modified design, of which more than 24 were begun....
, the Océan 120-gun type was to become one of the three French standard types of battleships during the war period 1793 to 1815.
These were the most powerful ships of the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
and a total of ten served during that time. These ships, however, were quite expensive in terms of building materials, artillery and manpower and so were reserved for admirals as their fleet flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
s.
Some of the ships spent 40 years on the stocks and were still in service in 1860, three of them having been equipped with auxiliary 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...
s in the 1850s.
Design
The Commerce de Marseille was designed by the engineer Jacques-Noël SanéJacques-Noël Sané
Jacques-Noël Sané was a French naval engineer, one of the most successful shipbuilders of the Age of Sail.Sané studied under Duhamel du Monceau...
, marking a leap in the evolution of 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...
design. The hull was simple with straight horizontal lines, minimal ornaments, and tumblehome
Tumblehome
In ship designing, the tumblehome is the narrowing of a ship's hull with greater distance above the water-line. Expressed more technically, it is present when the beam at the uppermost deck is less than the maximum beam of the vessel....
. The poop deck
Poop deck
In naval architecture, a poop deck is a deck that forms the roof of a cabin built in the rear, or "aft", part of the superstructure of a ship.The name originates from the French word for stern, la poupe, from Latin puppis...
was almost integral the gunwale
Gunwale
The gunwale is a nautical term describing the top edge of the side of a boat.Wale is the same word as the skin injury, a wheal, which, too, forms a ridge. Originally the gunwale was the "Gun ridge" on a sailing warship. This represented the strengthening wale or structural band added to the design...
, and the forecastle
Forecastle
Forecastle refers to the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters...
was minimal.
They were highly successful as gun platforms and sailors, a fact which indicates that great improvements had been made in warship design since the late 17th century when battleships of less than half their size were regarded as unwieldy giants which ought to be brought into harbour before the September gales began. However, at least the first two of this class appear to have had less strength than necessary - one (Commerce de Marseille) which was taken by the British in 1793, was never used by them, and the other (Ocean) had to be extensively rebuilt after a decade. This indicates that the growth in size of wooden warships caused structural problems which only gradually were solved.
It is interesting to note that though these ships were costly, their design changed to become even larger in terms of overall tonnage with the introduction of the Impérial in 1803. Mounting 18 pound cannon on her third gun deck (unheard of in French three-decked ships of the period), she would set the example for all of the French 118 gun ships to follow.
Ships of the type
(listed under their names at time of launching, and in order of their launching dates)_mg_5215.jpg)
- Commerce de MarseilleFrench ship Commerce de Marseille (1788)The Commerce de Marseille was a 118-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, lead ship of the Océan class.Commerce de Marseille was offered to the King by the Commerce Chamber of Marseille. Built on state-of-the-art plans by Sané, she was dubbed the "finest ship of the century"...
- Builder: ToulonToulonToulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
- Ordered: 7 July 1782
- Laid down: September 1786
- Launched: 7 August 1788
- Completed: October 1790
- Fate: captured by the English in Toulon on the 29 August 1793 and commissioned in the Royal NavyRoyal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
as HMS Commerce de Marseille. Converted to a floating prison in February 1799, and scrapped in 1802.- États de BourgogneFrench ship Océan (1790)Océan was a 118-gun first-rate three-decker ship of the line of the French Navy, lead ship of her class.She was ordered as États de Bourgogne and was launched at Brest in 1790...
- États de Bourgogne
- Builder: BrestBrest, FranceBrest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
- Ordered:
- Laid down: 12 August 1786 as États de Bourgogne
- Launched: 8 November 1790
- Completed: December 1790
- Fate: renamed Montagne on 22 October 1793 and then Peuple on 25 May 1795 and Ocean on 30 May 1795, disarmed in 1854 and stricken in 1855.
- Dauphin RoyalFrench ship Orient (1791)The Dauphin-Royal was an Océan class 118-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.During the French Revolution, she was renamed Sans-Culotte in September 1792, and eventually Orient in May 1795....
- Dauphin Royal
- Builder: Toulon
- Ordered: 21 November 1789
- Laid down: May 1790 as Dauphin Royal
- Launched: 20 July 1791
- Completed: August 1793
- Fate: renamed Sans Culotte on 29 September 1792 and then Orient on 21 May 1795; blew up at the Battle of the NileBattle of the NileThe Battle of the Nile was a major naval battle fought between British and French fleets at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt from 1–3 August 1798...
on 1 August 1798.- MajestueuxFrench ship République française (1802)The République française was a first-rate 118-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, of the Océan type, designed by Jacques-Noël Sané and built by Pierre Rolland....
- Majestueux
- Builder: RochefortRochefort, Charente-MaritimeRochefort is a commune in southwestern France, a port on the Charente estuary. It is a sub-prefecture of the Charente-Maritime department.-History:...
- Ordered:
- Laid down: 1794 as République françaiseFrench ship République française (1802)The République française was a first-rate 118-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, of the Océan type, designed by Jacques-Noël Sané and built by Pierre Rolland....
(renamed February 1803) - Launched: 1802
- Completed: August, 1803
- Fate: Scrapped in 1839
- VengeurFrench ship Vengeur (1803)The Vengeur was a first-rate 118-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, of the Océan type, designed by Jacques-Noël Sané....
: laid down as Peuple at Brest in October 1793, renamed to Vengeur in July 1794, launched 1 October 1803 and completed February 1804. Renamed Impérial in March 1805. Captured during the Battle of San DomingoBattle of San DomingoThe Battle of San Domingo, in 1806, was a naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars. French and British squadrons of ships of the line met off the southern coast of the French-occupied Spanish Colony of Santo Domingo in the Caribbean...
on the 6th of February 1806 and destroyed by fire. - AusterlitzFrench ship Austerlitz (1808)The Austerlitz was a first-rate 118-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, of the Océan type, designed by Jacques-Noël Sané.Ordered on 19 December 1805 to reinforce the Navy after the disaster of Trafalgar, she was commissioned in Toulon in May 1809 under Captain Guien.29 August 1814, after the...
: laid down April 1806 at Toulon; launched 15 August 1808 and completed August 1809. Scrapped in 1837. - WagramFrench ship Wagram (1810)The Wagram was a first-rate 118-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, of the Océan type, designed by Jacques-Noël Sané.Begun as Monarque, she was commissioned as Wagram in Toulon on 15 June 1810 under Captain Baudin....
: laid down April 1809 as Monarque at Toulon; renamed Wagram February 1810; launched 1 July 1810 and completed March 1811. Scrapped in 1836. - ImpérialFrench ship Impérial (1811)The Impérial was a first-rate 118-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, of the Océan type, designed by Jacques-Noël Sané and built by François Poncet....
: launched 1811 at Toulon, completed 1812, renamed to Royal-Louis in April 1814, renamed Impérial March 1815, renamed Royal Louis July 1815, condemned 1825 at Toulon and scrapped.
- Vengeur
- MontebelloFrench ship Montebello (1812)Montebello was an Océan type 118-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. She was launched in 1812 and refitted in 1821.In 1851, she was refitted to receive a steam engine. During trials, performance under sail was poor, probably because of the propeller which increased the drag.She took part in...
: laid down in 1810, launched in 1812 at ToulonToulonToulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
. Transferred to the gunnery school in 1860 and to the navigation school in 1865. Stricken in 1867. Scrapped in 1889. - HérosFrench ship Héros (1813)The Héros was a first-rate 118-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, of the Océan type, designed by Jacques-Noël Sané.Ordered in 1812, she was disarmed in 1816 in an unfinished state....
: launched in 1813 at Toulon. Scrapped in 1828. - SouverainFrench ship Souverain (1819)Souverain was an Océan type 118-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. She was launched in 1819 and transformed into a steam ship in 1853.In 1853, she was refitted to receive a steam engine....
: laid down in Toulon in 1813, launched in 1819. Converted to sail/steam and entered service in 1857. Used as gunnery training vessel from 1860. Stricken in 1867. Hulk scrapped in 1905. - TrocadéroFrench ship Trocadéro (1824)The Trocadéro was a first-rate 118-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, of the Océan type, designed by Jacques-Noël Sané.Ordered as Formidable, she was commissioned in Toulon as Trocadéro in 1824....
: laid down in 1813 at Toulon as Formidable, renamed to Trocadéro in 1823, launched in 1824. Destroyed in an accidental fire in 1836. - FriedlandFrench ship Friedland (1840)The Friedland was an Océan class 118-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.Her keel was laid down in Cherbourg in 1812 as Inflexibe. During her construction, she was renamed Friedland, Duc de Bordeaux during the Bourbon Restoration, Friedland again briefly during the Hundred Days and back to Duc...
: laid down as Inflexible in May 1812, renamed Duc de Bordeaux in May 1821 and then Friedland in August 1830. Launched on 4 April 1840 at Cherbourg. Entered service in 1840. Conversion to dual sail/steam ship started in 1857 but was abandoned and ship laid up without engine in 1858. Stricken in 1864. hulkHulk (ship)A hulk is a ship that is afloat, but incapable of going to sea. Although sometimes used to describe a ship that has been launched but not completed, the term most often refers to an old ship that has had its rigging or internal equipment removed, retaining only its flotational qualities...
renamed Colosse in 1865 and scrapped in 1879. - Ville-de-Paris: laid down in 1806 at Rochefort as Marengo; renamed to Ville-de-Vienne in 1807, Comte-d'Artois in 1814, and Ville-de-Paris in 1830. Launched in 1850. Entered Service in July, 1851. Converted to a dual sail/steam ship in 1858, engine removed and converted to transport in 1870. Stricken in 1882; hulk used as floating barracks until scrapped in 1898.
- Louis-XIVFrench ship Louis-XIV (1854)The Louis XIV was an Océan class 118-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.Laid down as Tonnant 1811 at Rochefort, she was renamed to Louis-XIV in 1828, still on keel...
: laid down as Tonnant in 1811 at Rochefort; renamed to Louis-XIV in 1828, launched in 1854. Entered service in 1854. Converted to a dual sail/steam ship in 1857. Transferred to the gunnery training school in 1861. Out of service 1873, stricken in 1880, scrapped in 1882. - Roi-de-RomeFrench ship Roi-de-Rome (1816)The Roi de Rome was a first-rate 118-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, of the Océan type, designed by Jacques-Noël Sané....
: laid down in 1811 at Brest. Cancelled in 1816 without having been launched.