French ship Pacificateur (1811)

The Pacificateur was a Bucentaure-class 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, designed by Sané. She was the first ship to sustain damage from Paixhans shells, during test-firing of Paixhans' canon-obusiers.[1]

The Robuste, sister ship of the Pacificateur
History
French Navy EnsignFrance
NamePacificateur
NamesakePacifier
OrderedJuly 1807
BuilderAnvers, Belgium
Laid down1808
Launched1811
In service22 May 1811
Stricken1824
FateCondemned 1824
General characteristics
Class and typeBucentaure-class ship of the line
Length
  • 55.88 m (183.33 ft) (overall)
  • 53.92 m (176.90 ft) (keel)
Beam15.27 m (50.10 ft)
Depth of hold7.63 m (25.03 ft)
PropulsionSail
Sail plan2,683 m2 (28,879.57 sq ft)
Complement866
Armament

History

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Commissioned in Antwerp in 1814, Pacificateur remained anchored at the entrance of the harbour to protect it until the Bourbon Restoration. In September 1814, she arrived in Brest, where she stayed until she was condemned, in 1824.

In January 1824, Pacificateur was used as a target ship to test new 22 cm canon-obusiers invented by Henri-Joseph Paixhans.[2] The wooden sides of Pacificateur sustained devastating damage, starting the decline of wooden warships and rise of the ironclads.

References

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  1. ^ Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. Toulon: JMR. Jean-Michel Roche. p. 337. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6.
  2. ^ Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, Gilbert (1874). The Navy: A Letter to the Earl of Minto, G.C.B., First Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty. Ridgway. p. 43. Retrieved 5 February 2021.