The Bucentaure class was a class of 80-gun French ships of the line built to a design by Jacques-Noël Sané from 1802 onwards, of which at least 29 were ordered but only 21 ships were launched. They were a development from his earlier Tonnant class.
Armament
As built, the first two ships of this class carried the same 80-gun armament as their predecessors of the Tonnant class - thirty 36-livre guns on the lower deck, thirty-two 24-livre guns on the upper deck, and eighteen 12-livre guns plus six 36-livreobusiers (howitzers) on the spar deck above (the French livre was about 8% greater than the British pound weight, so that 12 livres almost equaled 13 British pounds, and the 36-livre round equated to 38lbs 13.6oz).
Under the 1806 règlement, the spar deck ordnance was altered to fourteen 12-livre guns plus ten 36-livrecarronades. Subsequently, additional 36-livre carronades were carried by most later ships of the class, raising them to 86-gun ships (with variations in actual numbers).
Fate: Not launched as French warship; became Neapolitan ship in December 1813.
No other vessels of this design were completed, the following were begun at Antwerp, but were taken over in 1814 by the Netherlands, were never launched or completed, and were broken up on the stocks.
Mars
Begun: April 1811
Alexandre
Begun: June 1811
Tibre
Begun: June 1811
Atlas
Begun: September 1811
Fougueux
Begun: July 1812
A further ship to this same design was begun as Saturno in May 1812 at Venice, and was renamed Emo by the Austrians following their seizure of that city, but was broken up on the stocks in 1818–19. A second ship was ordered at Venice in 1813, but was never laid down. Finally a further ship of this class was ordered in 1812 at Rochefort, but was never laid down or even assigned a name.
References
Demerliac, Alain. Nomenclature des Navires Français de 1774 a 1792. Nice: Editions Omega.
Demerliac, Alain. Nomenclature des Navires Français de 1792 a 1799. Nice: Editions Omega.
Demerliac, Alain. Nomenclature des Navires Français de 1799 a 1815. Nice: Editions Omega.
Demerliac, Alain. Nomenclature des Navires Français de 1814 a 1848. Nice: Editions Omega.
Winfield, Rif and Roberts, Stephen S. (2015) French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786-1861: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN978-1-84832-204-2.
