Hercule-class ship of the line
 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 |
| Canceled | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & 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 |
|
| Armour | Timber |
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.
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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- 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
- ^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.
- ^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. Vol. 1. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.
