Hercule-class ship of the line

The Hercule class was a late type of 100-gun ships of the line of the French Navy. They were the second strongest of four ranks of ships of the line designed by the Commission de Paris. While the first units were classical straight-walled ships of the line, next ones were gradually converted to steam, and the last one was built with an engine.

1/40th-scale model of the 100-gun Hercule on display at the Musée national de la Marine.
Class overview
Name: Hercule
Builders: Toulon, Brest
Operators:  French Navy
Preceded by: Suffren class
Succeeded by:
Completed: 13
Cancelled: 2
General characteristics
Class and type: Hercule class
Displacement: 4440 tonnes
Length: 62.50 m (205 ft 1 in)
Beam: 16.20 m (53 ft 2 in)
Draught: 8.23 m (27 ft 0 in)
Propulsion: 3,150 m2 (33,900 sq ft) of sails
Complement: 955 men
Armament:
  • 100 guns, including:
  • 32 × long 30-pounders (lower deck)
  • 30 × short 30-pounders (middle deck)
  • 30 × 30-pounder carronades (upper deck)
  • 4 × long 18-pounders (upper deck)
Armour: Timber

Design

The Hercule class evolved as an enlargement of the straight-walled, 90-gun Suffren class, suggested by Jean Tupinier.[1]

With the Henri IV, a rounded stern was introduced. The next ships were built with the rounded stern, and it was retrofitted on the early units of the class.

Units
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Builder:Cherbourg
Begun:1829
Launched:1848
Completed:1850
Fate: Bombardment of Odessa (1854). Lost in a storm at Eupatoria in the Crimea (14.11.1854)
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1/75th-scale model of Prince Jérôme, on display at the Swiss Museum of Transport. She was transformed into a sail and steam ship of the line while on keel.
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  • Ulm, Lys renamed 1830
Builder:Rochefort
Begun:1825
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Fate: Bombardment at Kinburn (1855)
  • Wagram, Bucentaure renamed 1839
Builder:Lorient
Begun:1833
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Fate: Bombardment at Kinburn (1855)
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Notes and references

References
  1. Roberts, Stephen S. (2011). "Hercule-class sail ship of the line (2nd class, 100 guns)" (PDF). shipscribe.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  2. Loire (ex-Hoche, ex-Prince Jérôme, ex-Annibal) Archived 2016-04-12 at the Wayback Machine

Bibliography
  • Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. 1. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.
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