 Scale model ofAchille, sister ship of French ship Breslaw (1808), on display at theMusée national de la Marine in Paris. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
  France | |
| Name | Breslaw |
| Namesake | Wrocław |
| Ordered | 24 October 1804 |
| Builder | Genoa |
| Laid down | February 1805 |
| Launched | 3 May 1808 |
| Decommissioned | 1837 |
| Fate | Broken up |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | petitTéméraire-classship of the line |
| Displacement | 2,781tonneaux |
| Tons burthen | 1,381port tonneaux |
| Length | 53.97 m (177 ft 1 in) |
| Beam | 14.29 m (46 ft 11 in) |
| Draught | 6.72 m (22.0 ft) |
| Depth of hold | 6.9 m (22 ft 8 in) |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Crew | 705 |
| Armament |
|
Breslaw was a74-gunpetiteTéméraire-classship of the line built for theFrench Navy during the first decade of the 19th century. Completed in 1808, she played a major role in theBattle of Navarino in 1827.
Commerce de Lyon was one of thepetit modèle of theTéméraire class that was specially intended for construction in some of theshipyards in countries occupied by the French, where there was less depth of water than in the main French shipyards.[1] The ships had a length of 53.97 metres (177 ft 1 in), abeam of 14.29 metres (46 ft 11 in) and a depth ofhold of 6.9 metres (22 ft 8 in). The shipsdisplaced 2,781tonneaux and had a meandraught of 6.72 metres (22 ft 1 in). They had a tonnage of 1,381port tonneaux. Their crew numbered 705 officers andratings during wartime. They were fitted with threemasts andship rigged.[2]
Themuzzle-loading,smoothbore armament of theTéméraire class consisted of twenty-eight36-pounder long guns on the lowergun deck and thirty18-pounder long guns on the upper gun deck. Thepetit modèle ships ordered in 1803–1804 were intended to mount sixteen8-pounder long guns on their forecastle and quarterdeck, plus four 36-pounderobusiers on thepoop deck (dunette). Later ships were intended to have fourteen 8-pounders and ten 36-poundercarronades without any obusiers, but the numbers of 8-pounders and carronades actually varied between a total of 20 to 26 weapons.[2]
Breslaw was ordered asSuperbe on 24 October 1804 andlaid down in March 1805 inGenoa, Italy. The ship was renamedBreslaw on 14 May 1807 andlaunched on 3 May 1808.[2] She wascommissioned on 9 August 1808 by CaptainJoseph Allemand,[3] and completed in December.[2]Breslaw departed Genoa forToulon on 20 January 1809 to join theMediterranean Squadron, along with the corvetteVictorieuse; the ships crossed safely, arriving on 26, but collided off the harbour. Refitted in 1824,Breslaw participated in theBattle of Navarino, on 20 October 1827.[4] She played a decisive role in the battle when her captain,La Bretonnière, took the initiative of leaving the French squadron, which had safely completed its objectives, to reinforceHMSAlbion, which was trapped and in danger of being overwhelmed by the Ottoman fleet.[5]Breslaw took part in theInvasion of Algiers in 1830 under Captain Maillard de Liscourt, notably landing troops atSidi Ferruch on 16 June. Refitted again in 1831, the ship was struck in 1837.[4]