French ship Napoléon (1850)
Napoléon was a 90-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, and the first purpose-built steam battleship in the world. She is also considered the first true steam battleship, and the first screw battleship ever.
Napoléon (1850), the first purpose-built steam battleship in history. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| France | |
| Name | Napoléon |
| Namesake | Napoléon I of France |
| Ordered | 14 July 1847 |
| Builder | Toulon |
| Laid down | 7 February 1848 |
| Launched | 16 May 1850 |
| Commissioned | 1 May 1852 |
| Stricken | 6 November 1876 |
| Fate | Broken up 1886 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Napoléon-class ship of the line |
| Displacement | 5,120 tonnes |
| Length | 77.8 m (255 ft 3 in) |
| Beam | 17 m (55 ft 9 in) |
| Draught | 8.4 m (27 ft 7 in) |
| Propulsion | Sail and 2-cyl Indret geared, 960 nhp (574 ihp) |
| Speed | 12.1 knots (22.4 km/h; 13.9 mph) |
| Endurance |
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| Complement | 910 men |
| Armament |
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Launched in 1850, she was the lead ship of a class of nine battleships, all built over a period of ten years. This class of ship was designed by the famous naval designer Henri Dupuy de Lôme. She was originally to be named Prince de Joinville, in honour of François d'Orléans, Prince of Joinville, but was renamed 24 Février during the French Second Republic to celebrate the abdication of Louis Philippe I, and later to Napoléon in May 1850, a few days after her launch. The Prince of Joinville mentioned the incident in his Vieux Souvenirs, bitterly writing "I still laugh about it". The ship was broken up in 1886.