''Ville de Paris'' was an 118-gun ship of the line of the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

Service history

Her keel was laid down at Rochefort in 1807 as ''Marengo''. During her construction, she was renamed ''Ville de Vienne'', ''Comte d'Artois'' during the Bourbon Restoration, ''Ville de Vienne'' again briefly during the Hundred Days and back to ''Comte d'Artois'' thereafter. On 9 October 1830, following the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...

, she took her name of ''Ville de Paris''. She was launched on 5 October 1850. In 1851, she sailed to

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

where she served as flagship of the

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

, under captain Charles Pénaud.

Crimean War

On 23 March 1853, she departed Toulon for Greece, leading the First Squadron of Vice-Admiral Régnault de La Susse. She arrived at

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

in March 1853, where La Susse was relieved, and joined with the British squadron under Admiral Dundas at

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. In June 1853, the allied fleet arrived at Beşik Bay. On 15 July 1853, Admiral Hamelin took over command of the French squadron. On 22 September 1853, the fleet departed for the

Dardanelles The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...

, ''Ville de Paris'' in tow of . During the operations in the

Sea of Marmara The Sea of Marmara,; grc, Προποντίς, Προποντίδα, Propontís, Propontída also known as the Marmara Sea, is an inland sea located entirely within the borders of Turkey. It connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea via t ...

, she was towed by other steamships. In 1854, the squadron blockaded the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

and protected the allied lines of supply. ''Ville de Paris'' arrived at Odessa on 6 January 1854, taking Russian prisoners captured by other French units, and directing the shelling of the city on 22 March 1854. In late July 1854, a cholera epidemic broke out in the fleet. On 11 August 1854, the fleet sailed in quarantine. By the end of the month, ''Ville de Paris'' had 140 dead. On 2 September 1854, Saint Arnaud, general Canrobert and their staff came aboard to direct the landing at Eupatoria. ''Ville de Paris'' was again taken in tow of ''Napoléon'' and the fleet moved to Eupatoria, joining with the British fleet on 13 September. The next day at 8:30 am, the army landed. Eventually, 60,000 soldiers were landed by 16 September. On 17 October 1854, ''Ville de Paris'' launched the bombardment of

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

by signaling "France watches you". Her

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''. Thus ...

was soon struck by a shell and two round shots, killing two and wounding six men. By 7:00 PM, ''Ville de Paris'' had received 50 shots in her hull and one hundred in her rigging. On 14 November 1854, ''Ville de Paris'' lost steering during a storm, and had to return to the

Bosporus The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Tu ...

in tow of a steamship. She was repaired at

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

, returning to sea on 21 December 1854. She returned to Toulon on 28 March 1855.

Conversion and fate

From July 1857, ''Ville de Paris'' was transformed into a steamship, gaining in the process. She was launched in May 1858 and recommissioned in August 1858. In 1870, she was converted into a

troopship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...

, her engine removed, and in 1881 she was used as a hulk. ''Ville de Paris'' was sold for

scrapping Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered me ...

on 2 March 1898.

External links

110/130-gun ships-of-the-line
including a photograph {{DEFAULTSORT:Ville de Paris (1850) Ships of the line of the French Navy Océan-class ships of the line 1850 ships Auxiliary steamers Victorian-era ships of the line Ships built in France Maritime incidents in November 1854