The ''République française'' was a

first-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a first rate was the designation for the largest ships of the line. Originating in the Jacobean era with the designation of Ships Royal capable of carrying at least ...

118-gun built for the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

during the first decade of the 19th century. Renamed ''Majestueux'' in 1803, the ship was completed that same year. She played a small role during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

and was

scrapped Scrap consists of recyclable Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. This concept often includes the recovery of energy from waste materials. The recyclability of a material depends on i ...

in 1839.

Description

The ''Océan''-class ships had an length of at the

gun deck The term gun deck used to refer to a deck aboard a ship that was primarily used for the mounting of cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical prope ...

a beam of and a depth of

hold Hold may refer to: Physical spaces * Hold (compartment), interior cargo space * Baggage hold, cargo space on an airplane * Stronghold, a castle or other fortified place Arts, entertainment, and media * Hold (musical term), a pause, also called ...

of . The ships displaced and had a mean draught of . They had a tonnage of 2,794–2,930

tons burthen Builder's Old Measurement (BOM, bm, OM, and o.m.) is the method used in England from approximately 1650 to 1849 for calculating the cargo capacity of a ship. It is a volumetric measurement of cubic capacity. It estimated the tonnage of a ship b ...

. Their crew numbered 1,117 officers and ratings. They were fitted with three

mast Mast, MAST or MASt may refer to: Engineering * Mast (sailing), a vertical spar on a sailing ship * Flagmast, a pole for flying a flag * Guyed mast, a structure supported by guy-wires * Mooring mast, a structure for docking an airship * Radio mas ...

s and

ship rig A full-rigged ship or fully rigged ship is a sailing ship, sailing vessel with a sail plan of three or more mast (sailing), masts, all of them square rig, square-rigged. Such a vessel is said to have a ship rig or be ship-rigged, with each mas ...

ged with a sail area of .Winfield & Roberts, pp. 44–46 The

muzzle-loading A muzzleloader is any firearm in which the user loads the projectile and the propellant charge into the muzzle end of the gun (i.e., from the forward, open end of the gun's barrel). This is distinct from the modern designs of breech-loading fire ...

smoothbore A smoothbore weapon is one that has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars. Some examples of smoothbore weapons are muskets, blunderbusses, and flintlock pistols. ...

armament of the ''Océan'' class consisted of thirty-two

36-pounder long gun The 36-pounder long gun was the largest piece of naval artillery in the Age of Sail, artillery mounted on French warships of the Age of Sail. They were also used for Coastal defense and fortification. They largely exceeded the heaviest guns fielded ...

s on the lower gun deck, thirty-four

24-pounder long gun The 24-pounder long gun was a heavy calibre piece of artillery mounted on warships of the Age of Sail. 24-pounders were in service in the navies of France, Spain, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States. They were comparable ...

s on the middle gun deck and on the upper gundeck were thirty-four

12-pounder long gun The 12-pounder long gun was an intermediary calibre piece of artillery mounted on warships of the Age of Sail. They were used as main guns on the most typical frigates of the early 18th century, on the second deck of fourth-rate ships of the line, ...

s. On the

quarterdeck The quarterdeck is a raised deck behind the main mast of a sailing ship. Traditionally it was where the captain commanded his vessel and where the ship's colours were kept. This led to its use as the main ceremonial and reception area on bo ...

and

forecastle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck (ship), deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is t ...

were a total of eighteen

8-pounder long gun The 8-pounder long gun was a light calibre piece of artillery mounted on French warships of the Age of Sail. It fired a projectile of eight ''livres'' in weight, equivalent to 8.633 English pounds, or 8 lb 10 oz (the French ''livre'' was 7.916% he ...

s and six 30-pounder

obusier The ''obusier de vaisseau'' was a light piece of naval artillery with a large calibre mounted on French warships of the Age of Sail. Designed to fire explosive shells at a low velocity, they were an answer to the carronade in the close combat an ...

s.Winfield & Roberts, p. 46

Career

''République Française'' was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

at the

Arsenal de Rochefort The Arsenal de Rochefort was a French naval base and dockyard in the town of Rochefort. It was founded in 1665 and it was closed in 1926. In December 1665 Rochefort was chosen by Jean-Baptiste Colbert as a place of "refuge, defense and supply" f ...

on 23 March 1794, although construction soon stopped. It was resumed on 22 March 1800 by Entreprise Destouches and the ship was launched on 18 April 1802. She was renamed ''Majestueux'' on 5 February 1802, commissioned on 1 August 1803 and completed later that month. The ship took part in Allemand's expedition of 1805.Roche, p. 293 She was stricken from the

navy list A Navy Directory, Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a co ...

on 26 January 1839, decommissioned on 11 April and subsequently broken up.

Citations

References

* *Winfield, Rif and Roberts, Stephen S. (2015) ''French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786-1861: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates.'' Seaforth Publishing. {{DEFAULTSORT:Republique Francaise Ships of the line of the French Navy Océan-class ships of the line 1802 ships Ships built in France