French ship Impétueux (1803)

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Impétueux and French ship Brutus.
Scale model of Achille, sister ship of French ship Impétueux (1803), on display at the Musée national de la Marine in Paris.
History
France
NameImpétueux
Ordered31 May 1798
Laid down22 September 1798
Launched24 January 1803 as Brutus
CommissionedMarch 1803
Decommissioned14 September 1806
RenamedImpétueux on 5 February 1803
FateBeached and set ablaze by the British in Chesapeake on 14 September 1806
General characteristics [1]
Class and typeTéméraire-class ship of the line
Displacement
  • 2,966 tonnes
  • 5,260 tonnes fully loaded
Length55.87 metres (183.3 ft) (172 pied)
Beam14.90 metres (48 ft 11 in)
Draught7.26 metres (23.8 ft) (22 pied)
PropulsionUp to 2,485 m2 (26,750 sq ft) of sails
Armament
ArmourTimber

Impétueux was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. Launched at Lorient, France, on 24 January 1803 as Brutus, she was renamed Impétueux on 5 February 1803.

Impétueux served in the Caribbean under Jean-Baptiste Philibert Willaumez during the Atlantic campaign of 1806.

On 19 August 1806, Impétueux was dismasted in a storm and drifted until 10 September 1806. On 14 September 1806, she was chased by Sir Richard John Strachan's Royal Navy squadron comprising HMS Belleisle, HMS Bellona and HMS Melampus; unable to fight, she beached herself in the Chesapeake Bay. Her wreck was set ablaze by the British and the crew was taken prisoner.

See also

References

  1. ^ Clouet, Alain (2007). "La marine de Napoléon III : classe Téméraire - caractéristiques". dossiersmarine.free.fr. Archived from the original on 23 March 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.


Stub icon

This article about a specific military ship or boat of France is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Stub icon

This article about a ship of the line of France is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.