French ship Roi-de-Rome (1816)

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For other ships with the same name, see French ship Sans Pareil and French ship Inflexible.
1/48 scale model of the Océan class 120-gun ship of the line Commerce de Marseille, sister-ship of the Roi-de-Rome. On display at Marseille naval museum.
History
French Navy EnsignFrance
NameRoi de Rome
FateBroken up incomplete, 1816
General characteristics
Class & typeOcéan-class ship of the line
Displacement5,098 t (5,017 long tons)
Tons burthen2,794–2,930 tonnes
Length63.83 m (209 ft 5 in) (gun deck)
Beam16.24 m (53 ft 3 in)
Draught8.15 m (26 ft 9 in)
Propulsionsail, 3,250 m2 (35,000 sq ft)
Sail planfull-rigged ship
Complement1,117
Armament

Roi de Rome (King of Rome) was a first-rate 118-gun Océan-class ship of the line built for the French Navy during the 1810s. The ship was never completed and was scrapped in 1816.

Description

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The later Océan-class ships had a length of 63.83 metres (209 ft 5 in) at the gun deck a beam of 16.4 metres (53 ft 10 in) and a depth of hold of 8.12 metres (26 ft 8 in). The ships displaced 5,095 tonnes (5,015 long tons) and had a mean draught of 8.14 metres (26 ft 8 in). They had a tonnage of 2,794–2,930 tons burthen. Their crew numbered 1,130 officers and ratings. They were fitted with three masts and ship rigged with a sail area of 3,250 square metres (35,000 sq ft).[1]

The muzzle-loading, smoothbore armament of the Océan class consisted of thirty-two 36-pounder long guns on the lower gun deck, thirty-four 24-pounder long guns on the middle gun deck and on the upper gundeck were thirty-four 18-pounder long guns. On the quarterdeck and forecastle were a total of fourteen 8-pounder long guns and a dozen 36-pounder carronades.[2]

Construction

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Sans Pareil was ordered on 15 March 1811, renamed Roi de Rome (after the title that Napoleon had awarded to his newborn son) on 18 April, and was laid down at the Arsenal de Brest later that month. Construction was suspended that same month. The ship was renamed Inflexible on 21 May and then resumed her original name on 21 December. She remained in an unfinished state until June 1816, when some of her wood was found to have rotted, and she was broken up. The sound timbers were used during the refitting of Wagram in 1818–1821.[2][3]

A model of an 80-gun two-decker named Roi de Rome (CnAM 4024) is on display at the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris; the ship is fictitious and bears no connection to 120-gun Roi de Rome.[4]

Citations

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  1. ^ Winfield & Roberts, pp. 44, 46–47
  2. ^ a b Winfield & Roberts, p. 48
  3. ^ Roche, p. 385
  4. ^ Decencière, Patrice (June 2011). "Les collections maritimes du Musée des arts et métiers". Neptunia (262): 37.

References

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  • Winfield, Rif and Roberts, Stephen S. (2015) French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786-1861: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-204-2
  • Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours 1 1671 - 1870. p. 385. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.