French ship Aigle (1800)
 Drawing of the main features of Aigle
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Aigle |
| Namesake | Eagle |
| Builder | Rochefort |
| Laid down | 1794 |
| Launched | 6 July 1800 |
| Captured |
|
| Fate | Wrecked 23 October 1805 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Téméraire-class ship of the line |
| Displacement | 3,069 tonneaux |
| Tons burthen | 1,537 port tonneaux |
| Length | 55.87 m (183 ft 4 in) |
| Beam | 14.46 m (47 ft 5 in) |
| Draught | 7.15 m (23.5 ft) |
| Depth of hold | 7.15 m (23 ft 5 in) |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Crew | 705 |
| Armament |
|
Aigle was a 4th rank, 74-gun Téméraire-class ship of the line built for the French Navy during the 1790s. Completed in 1801, she played a minor role in the Napoleonic Wars.
Description
Designed by Jacques-Noël Sané, the Téméraire-class ships had a 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 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
Aigle was laid down at the Arsenal de Rochefort on 26 December 1794 and named on 23 March 1795. The ship was launched on 6 July 1800, completed in February 1801 and commissioned on 14 April.[3] In 1805 she sailed to the West Indies with her sister ship Algésiras where they joined a French fleet under Vice-Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve. Aigle took part in the Battle of Trafalgar in October.[4] She was captured during the battle by a boarding party from HMS Defiance.[5] On the following day, her crew rose up against the British prize crew, and recaptured the ship. However, she was wrecked in the storm of 23 October.[6]
Citations
- ^ Winfield & Roberts, p. 87
- ^ Winfield & Roberts, pp. 87–88
- ^ Winfield & Roberts, p. 91
- ^ Roche, p. 11
- ^ Stewart, William (2014), "Durham, Sir Philip Charles Henderson Calderwood, (1763–1845) (Britain)", Admirals of the World: A Biographical Dictionary, 1500 to the Present, McFarland, p. 114, ISBN 978-0-7864-8288-7
- ^ Adkins, Roy (2011), Trafalgar: The Biography of a Battle, Little, Brown Book Group, p. 88, ISBN 978-1-4055-1344-9
References
- Adkin, Mark (2005). The Trafalgar Companion: A Guide to History's Most Famous Sea Battle and the Life of Admiral Lord Nelson. Aurum. ISBN 1-84513-018-9.
- Adkins, Roy (2004). Trafalgar: The Biography of a Battle. Little, Brown. ISBN 0-316-72511-0.
- Clayton, Tim & Craig, Phil (2004). Trafalgar: The Men, the Battle, the Storm. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-83026-3.
- Fremont-Barnes, Gregory (2005). Trafalgar 1805: Nelson's Crowning Victory. Campaign. Vol. 157. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-892-8.
- Goodwin, Peter (2005). The Ships of Trafalgar: The British, French and Spanish Fleets October 1805. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-824-3.
- 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 & 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
