French ship Thésée (1790)
 Scale model of Achille, sister ship of French ship Thésée (1790), on display at the Musée national de la Marine in Paris. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
.svg.png){kind=small}   France | |
| Name | Thésée |
| Namesake | Theseus |
| Ordered | 19 October 1787 |
| Builder | Rochefort |
| Laid down | March 1788 |
| Launched | 14 April 1790 |
| In service | August 1790 |
| Out of service | 7 December 1804 |
| Renamed |
|
| Fate | Broken up in 1816 |
| 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 |
|
Thésée was a 4th rank, 74-gun Téméraire-class ship of the line built for the French Navy during the 1780s. Completed in 1790, she played a minor role in the French Revolutionary Wars.
Description
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, thirty 18-pounder long guns 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
Thésée was laid down at the Arsenal de Rochefort in March 1788. The ship was launched 14 April 1790 and completed the following August.[3] The ship was renamed Révolution on 7 January 1793 and her crew mutinied in September. She took part in the French expedition to Ireland in 1796 under Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley. The ship was renamed Finistere on 5 February 1802. She was condemned on 6 December 1804 and was hulked on 7 January 1805.[4]
Citations
Bibliography
- 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