French ship Océan (1790)

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Océan.

Océan was a 118-gun first-rate three-decker ship of the line of the French Navy, lead ship^{[note 1]} of her class. She was funded by a don des vaisseaux donation from the Estates of Bourgogne.

Océan drawn by Antoine Léon Morel-Fatio
History
France
Namesake	Ocean
Ordered	30 September 1785 [1]
Builder	Arsenal de Toulon
Laid down	12 August 1786 as États de Bourgogne[2][3]
Launched	8 November 1790[3]
Out of service	2 August 1850
Renamed	Ordered and completed as États de Bourgogne; Côte d'Or 22 January 1793; Montagne 22 October 1793; Peuple 25 May 1795; Océan 30 May 1795.
Stricken	1851 floating battery, 1855/56 broken up
Fate	Broken up in 1856
General characteristics
Class and type	Océan-class ship of the line
Displacement	2 700 tonnes
Length	65.18 m (213.8 ft) (196.6 French feet)
Beam	16.24 m (53.3 ft) (50 French feet)
Draught	8.12 m (26.6 ft) (25 French feet)
Propulsion	sail, 3,265 m2 (35,140 sq ft)
Complement	1,079
Armament	Lower deck: lower deck: 32 36-pounder guns middle deck: 34 24-pounder guns upper deck: 34 12-pounder guns forecastle: 18 8-pounder guns, 6 36-pounder carronades

She was ordered as États de Bourgogne and was launched at Brest in 1790. Like many French ships of the line during the Revolutionary period, she was renamed several times, becoming Côte d'Or in January 1793, Montagne in October 1793, Peuple on 17 May 1795, and a matter of weeks later again renamed, to Océan. She served until 1855.

A large model of a generic Océan-class ship, named Océan, at the 1⁄16 scale can be seen at the Musée de la Marine in Paris.

Career

Figurehead of Océan.

As the largest ship of the line in the Brest fleet, the ship spent much of her early career as the fleet flagship.

As Montagne, the ship was the flagship of Rear-Admiral Villaret-Joyeuse in the Combat de Prairial (known in English literature as the Glorious First of June) in 1794. She was badly damaged by HMS Royal Sovereign, losing 313 men and receiving 233 round shots in her hull.

On 17 May 1795, she was renamed Peuple; a month later, on 23 June she fought in the Battle of Groix as Villaret's flagship. Returning to Lorient three days later, she was officially renamed to Océan, a name that had been in use since 30 May.

She was refitted in Brest in 1797.

In 1801, she once again served as Villaret's flagship, ferrying troops of Leclerc's expedition to Saint-Domingue.

Océan was Allemand's flagship at the Battle of the Basque Roads.

She was decommissioned on 2 August 1850, and used as a floating artillery battery from May 1851.

Views of Océan

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  Large model of a generic Océan-class ship, named Océan
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  Montagne (shown) in the preliminary action which led, two days later, to the engagement known as 'Battle of the Glorious First of June
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  Océan, as Montagne, in Loutherbourg's painting Lord Howe's action, or the Glorious First of June

Notes

1. Commerce de Marseille was ordered after États de Bourgogne (which was later renamed Océan), but launched before her; therefore, the ship type is alternatively called Commerce de Marseille class or Océan class

Citations

1. Boudriot, p.21
2. Demerliac, 1774 à 1792
3. Roche, vol.1, Océan

References

• "Le vaisseau trois-ponts l’Océan", Jean Boudriot, in Neptunia n° 102 (1971), page 21.
• Demerliac, Alain (2004). La Marine de Louis XVI: Nomenclature des Navires Français de 1774 à 1792 (in French). Éditions Ancre. ISBN 2-906381-23-3.
• Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. Vol. 1. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922. (1671-1870)

External links

• French ship Océan