Charlemagne was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, part of the shorter Borée subtype.
![]() Launch of Charlemagne before Napoléon.
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History | |
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Name | Charlemagne |
Namesake | Charlemagne |
Ordered | 4 January 1803[1] |
Builder | Antwerp[1] |
Laid down | May 1804[1] |
Launched | 8 April 1807[1] |
Stricken | 30 August 1814[1] |
Fate | Ceded to the Netherlands, broken up 1823 |
General characteristics [2] | |
Class and type | Téméraire-class ship of the line |
Displacement | |
Length | 54 m (177 ft 2 in)[1] |
Beam | 14.3 m (46 ft 11 in)[1] |
Draught | 6.7 m (22 ft 0 in)[1] |
Propulsion | Up to 2,485 m2 (26,750 sq ft) of sails[1] |
Complement | 678 men[1] |
Armament |
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Career
editCharlemagne was the first ship of the line to be built in Antwerp according to the wishes of Napoléon, who wanted to expand the French Navy by exploiting shipyards in Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy. In 1807, she was stationed in Vlissingen under Commander Dupotet, in the squadron of Vice-Admiral Missiessy. She aided in the defence of Antwerp against the amphibious raid led by Chatham, and again during the Siege of Antwerp of 1814.
After the Bourbon Restoration, on 30 August 1814, Charlemagne was transferred to the Dutch Navy, as per the Treaty of Paris. The Dutch brought her into service as Nassau.
Citations
editReferences
edit- Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours, 1671–1870. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. p. 110. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.