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 & type	Napoléon-classship 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	3 months' worth of food 9 days' worth of coal at full-speed
Complement	910 men
Armament	90 guns (32–30 pdr,4–22 cm) (26–30 pdr,4–22 cm) (14–16 cm)

Napoléon was a 90-gunship of the line of theFrench Navy, and the first purpose-built steambattleship in the world.^[1] She is also considered the first true steam battleship, and the first ever screw battleship.^[2]

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 designerHenri Dupuy de Lôme. She was originally to be namedPrince de Joinville, in honour ofFrançois d'Orléans, Prince of Joinville, but was renamed24 Février (English: 24 February) during theFrench Second Republic to celebrate the abdication ofLouis Philippe I on that date in 1848, and later toNapoléon in May 1850, a few days after her launch. The Prince of Joinville mentioned the incident in hisVieux Souvenirs, bitterly writing "I still laugh about it".^[3] The ship was broken up in 1886.^[4]

Before the experimental adoption of thescrew in warships in the 1840s, the only available steam technology was that of thepaddle wheels, which, due to their positioning on the side of the hull and the large machinery they required were not compatible with the broadside cannon layout of the battleships.

"Dupuy de Lôme conceived and carried out the bolder scheme of designing a full-powered screw liner, and in 1847Le Napoléon was ordered. Her success made the steam reconstruction of the fleets of the world a necessity. She was launched in 1850, tried in 1852, and attained a speed of nearly 14 knots (26 km/h). During theCrimean War her performances attracted great attention, and the type she represented was largely increased in numbers. She was about 240 ft (73 m). in length, 55 ft (17 m). in breadth, and of 5,000 tons displacement, with two gun decks. In her design boldness and prudence were well combined. The good qualities of the sailing line-of-battle ships which had been secured by the genius of Sané and his colleagues were maintained; while the new conditions involved in the introduction of steam power and large coal supply were thoroughly fulfilled."^[5]

From 1844–45 the Anglo-FrenchEntente collapsed following the French interventions inTahiti andMorocco, and the publication of French pamphlets advocating a stronger navy (such as "Notes sur l’état des forces navales" by thePrince de Joinville), leading to an arms race in the naval area.

The United Kingdom already had a few coastal units with screw/steam propulsion in the 1840s, called "blockships", which were conversions of small traditional battleships into floating batteries with a jury rig, with a medium 450 hp (340 kW) engine for speeds of 5.8 knots (10.7 km/h; 6.7 mph) to 8.9 knots (16.5 km/h; 10.2 mph). The Royal Navy had also commissioned a number of steamsloops,HMS Rattler being the first screw-propelled warship to be launched anywhere in the world in 1843. Both nations had also developed steam frigates, the FrenchPomone launched in 1845, and the BritishAmphion a year later. However,Napoléon was the first regular steam battleship to be launched.

In 1847, Britain had designed a screw/steam battleship namedJames Watt, but the project much delayed and she did not enter service until 1854. Hersister ship,Agamemnon, was ordered in 1849 and commissioned in January 1853. Another sailing battleship,Sans Pareil, was converted to steam on the stocks and launched in March 1851; she beatAgamemnon into service in November 1852.^[6] Britain’s reluctance to commit to the steam battleship apparently stemmed from her commitment to long-distance, worldwide operation, for which, at that time, sail was still the most reliable mode of propulsion.

In the end, France and Great Britain were the only two countries to develop fleets of wooden steam battleships, although several other navies are known to have had at least one unit, built or converted with British technical support (Russia,Turkey,Sweden,Naples,Denmark andAustria). Altogether, France built 10 new wooden steam battleships and converted 28 from older battleship units, while Britain built 18 and converted 41.^[7]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toNapoléon (ship, 1852).

• Jones, Colin (1996). "Entente Cordiale, 1865". In McLean, David &Preston, Antony (eds.).Warship 1996. London: Conway Maritime Press.ISBN 0-85177-685-X.
• Roche, Jean-Michel (2005).Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. Vol. Tome I: 1671–1870. Roche.ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6.OCLC 165892922.
• Winfield, Rif & Roberts, Stephen S. (2015).French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786–1861: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing.ISBN 978-1-84832-204-2.
• Steam, Steel and Shellfire: The Steam Warship 1815–1905, Conway’s History of the Ship,ISBN 0-7858-1413-2

• (in French)« J’en ris encore », Nicolas Mioque

• Ships built in Toulon
• 1850 ships
• Crimean War naval ships of France
• Victorian-era ships of the line
• 1850 in France
• Napoléon-class ships of the line

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Commons category link is on Wikidata
• CS1: long volume value
• Articles with French-language sources (fr)