Bucentaure class ship of the line
Encyclopedia

The Bucentaure class was a class of 80-gun French ships of the line
Ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...

 built to a design by Jacques-Noël Sané
Jacques-Noël Sané
Jacques-Noël Sané was a French naval engineer, one of the most successful shipbuilders of the Age of Sail.Sané studied under Duhamel du Monceau...

 from 1802 onwards, of which at least 29 were ordered but only 21 ships were launched. They were a development from his earlier Tonnant class
Tonnant class ship of the line
The Tonnant Class was a class of eight 80-gun ships of the line designed in 1787 by Jacques-Noël Sané. From 1802 a new group was begun of slightly modified design, of which more than 24 were begun....

.

Ships in class

  • Bucentaure
    French ship Bucentaure (1804)
    Bucentaure was a 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. She was the flagship of Vice-Admiral Latouche Tréville, who died on board on 18 August 1804....

Builder: Toulon
Begun: November 1802
Launched: 13 July 1803
Completed: January 1804
Fate: Captured by the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 on 21 October 1805 following Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....

. Was briefly recaptured but was then wrecked on 23 October 1805.

  • Neptune
Builder: Toulon
Begun: January 1803
Launched: 15 August 1803
Completed: April 1804
Fate: Captured by the Spanish Navy
Spanish Navy
The Spanish Navy is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Armada is responsible for notable achievements in world history such as the discovery of Americas, the first world circumnavigation, and the discovery of a maritime path...

 in June 1808, renamed Neptuno, deleted 1820.

  • Robuste
    French ship Robuste (1806)
    The Robuste was an 80-gun Bucentaure-class 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, designed by Jacques-Noël Sané.She was commissioned under Captain Louis-Antoine-Cyprien Infernet, and was later captained by Julien Cosmao....

Builder: Toulon
Begun: May 1805
Launched: 30 October 1806
Completed: May 1807
Fate: Scuttled and burnt on 26 October 1809.

  • Ville de Varsovie
    French ship Ville de Varsovie (1808)
    The Ville de Varsovie was an 80-gun Bucentaure-class 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, designed by Chaumont from original plans by Sané.Built as Tonnant, she was renamed Ville de Varsovie while still under construction...

Builder: Rochefort
Begun: March 1805 as Tonnant, renamed May 1807
Launched: 10 May 1808
Completed: July 1808
Fate: Captured and burnt by the British in April 1809.

  • Donawerth
    French ship Donawerth (1808)
    The Donawerth was an 80-gun Bucentaure-class 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, designed by Sané.In late 1809, Ganteaume was organising reinforcements to Barcelona. Cosmao set his flag on and took command of a squadron comprising , , and , as well as the frigates and , and a dozen of...

Builder: Toulon
Begun: December 1806
Launched: 4 July 1808
Completed: October 1808
Fate: Broken up 1824.

  • Eylau
    French ship Eylau (1808)
    The Eylau was an 80-gun Bucentaure-class 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, designed by Sané.Began as Saturne, she was rename Eylau while still under construction. She was commissioned on 11 March 1809 under Captain Jurien de La Gravière.In 1811, she was the flagship of Admiral Allemand...

Builder: Lorient
Begun: September 1805
Launched: 19 November 1808
Completed: May 1809
Fate: Condemned 1829 and broken up.

  • Friedland
    French ship Friedland (1810)
    The Friedland was an 80-gun Bucentaure-class 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, designed by Sané.Her launching was attended by Napoleon and his wife, Marie Louise...

Builder: Antwerp
Begun: July 1807
Launched: 2 May 1810
Completed: May 1811
Fate: Handed over to the Netherlands on 1 August 1814 and renamed Vlaming. Broken up 1823.

  • Sceptre
    French ship Sceptre (1810)
    The Sceptre was an 80-gun Bucentaure-class 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, designed by Sané.-References:* Jean-Michel Roche, Dictionnaire des Bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours, tome I...

Builder: Toulon
Begun: March 1809
Launched: 15 August 1810
Completed: March 1811
Fate: Condemned 1828 and hulked.

  • Tilsitt
    French ship Tilsitt (1810)
    The Tilsitt was an 80-gun Bucentaure-class 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, designed by Sané.She defended the harbour on Anvers until 1814....

Builder: Antwerp
Begun: September 1807
Launched: 15 August 1810
Completed: May 1811
Fate: Handed over to the Netherlands on 1 August 1814 and renamed Neptunus. Condemned and broken up 1818.

  • Auguste
    French ship Auguste (1811)
    The Auguste was an 80-gun Bucentaure-class 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, designed by Sané.In 1812, she was part of Gourdon's squadron.She was renamed to Illustre in March 1814, with the Bourbon Restauration...

Builder: Antwerp
Begun: October 1807
Launched: 25 April 1811
Completed: July 1811
Fate: Handed over to the Netherlands on 1 August 1814 but returned to France in September and renamed Illustre. Condemned and broken up 1827.

  • Pacificateur
    French ship Pacificateur (1811)
    The Pacificateur was an 80-gun Bucentaure-class 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, designed by Sané. She is notable for being the first ship to sustain damage from Paixhans shells....

Builder: Antwerp
Begun: September 1807
Launched: 22 May 1811
Completed: August 1811
Fate: Condemned 1823.

  • Illustre
    French ship Illustre (1811)
    The Illustre was an 80-gun Bucentaure-class 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, designed by Sané.She was given to Holland with the Treaty of Fontainebleau of 1814.-References:...

Builder: Antwerp
Begun: August 1807
Launched: 9 June 1811
Completed: October 1811
Fate: Handed over to the Netherlands on 1 August 1814 and renamed Prins van Oranje. Sold 1825 and broken up.

  • Diademe
    French ship Diadème (1811)
    The Diadème was an 86-gun Bucentaure-class 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, designed by Sané.Commissioned in Lorient in January 1812, Diadème was disarmed at the Bourbon Restauration...

Builder: Lorient
Begun: November 1807
Launched: 1 December 1811
Completed: March 1812
Fate: Condemned 1856 and broken up 1868.

  • Conquérant
    French ship Conquérant (1812)
    The Conquérant was a Bucentaure-class 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, designed by Sané.She was commissioned in Anvers under Captain Lafond in the Scheldt squadron. At the Bourbon Restauration, she was sent to Brest, where she underwent a refit in 1821, and was sent to Toulon in 1824...

Builder: Antwerp
Begun: December 1808
Launched: 27 April 1812
Completed: September 1812
Fate: Condemned 1831.

  • Zélandais
Builder: Cherbourg
Begun: October 1810
Launched: 12 October 1813
Completed: March 1814
Fate: Condemned 1836 and hulked. Broken up 1858.

  • Magnifique
    French ship Magnifique (1814)
    The Magnifique was a 86-gun Bucentaure-class 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, designed by Sané.She was commissioned in Lorient on 1 November 1814....

Builder: Lorient
Begun: December 1809
Launched: 29 October 1814
Completed: November 1814
Fate: Condemned 1837.

  • Centaure
    French ship Centaure (1818)
    The Centaure was an 86-gun Bucentaure-class 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, designed by Sané.She took part in operations of the Spanish expedition in 1823, along with Trident and Sirène, silencing fort Santi-Pietri...

Builder: Cherbourg
Begun: November 1811
Launched: 8 January 1818
Completed: April 1818
Fate: Renamed Santi Pietri in October 1823. Hulked 1849, burnt by accident 1862.

  • Neptune
    French ship Neptune (1818)
    The Neptune was an 80-gun Bucentaure-class 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, designed by Sané.Started in 1810, briefly renamed Brabançon during the Hundred Days and launched in 1818, after the Bourbon Restauration, she remained without commission until 1839.She was part of a squadron...

     (ii)
Builder: Lorient
Begun: December 1810
Launched: 21 March 1818
Completed: June 1818
Fate: Hulked 1858, broken up 1868.

  • Algeciras
    French ship Algésiras (1823)
    The Algésiras was an 80-gun Bucentaure-class 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, designed by Sané.She took part in the Invasion of Algiers in 1830, under Captain Ponée, and in the Tage expedition the next year, under Captain Moulac....

Builder: Lorient
Begun: April 1812
Launched: 21 August 1823
Completed: April 1824
Fate: Hulked 1846.

  • Jupiter
    French ship Jupiter (1831)
    The Jupiter was an 80-gun Bucentaure-class 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, designed by Sané.In 1836, she ferried Admiral de Markau from Brest to Fort de France to replace Admiral Halgan as governor in the Caribbean....

Builder: Cherbourg
Begun: November 1811
Launched: 22 October 1831
Completed: September 1833
Fate: hulked 1863.

  • Vesuvio
Builder: Castellammare di Stabia
Begun: August 1812
Launched: 2 December 1824
Completed: 1825
Fate: Not launched as French warship; became Neapolitan ship in December 1813.


No other vessels of this design were completed, the following were begun at Antwerp, but taken over in 1814 by the Netherlands, and broken up on the stocks.
  • Mars
Begun: April 1811
  • Alexandre
Begun: June 1811
  • Tibre
Begun: June 1811
  • Atlas
Begun: September 1811
  • Fougueux
Begun: July 1812


A further ship to this same design was begun as the Saturno in May 1812 at Venice, and was renamed Ems by the Austrians following their seizure of that city, but was broken up on the stocks in 1818-19. A second ship was ordered at Venice in 1813, but was never laid down. Finally a further ship of this class was ordered in 1812 at Rochefort, but was never laid down or even assigned a name.
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