Scale model of
Achille, sister ship of French ship Diomède (1803), on display at the
Musée national de la Marine in Paris.
| |
History | |
---|---|
France | |
Name | Diomède |
Launched | 1 August 1799 as Union |
Renamed | Diomède 1803 |
Fate |
|
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Téméraire-class ship of the line |
Displacement |
|
Length | 55.87 metres (183.3 ft) (172 pied) |
Beam | 14.90 metres (48 ft 11 in) |
Draught | 7.26 metres (23.8 ft) (22 pied) |
Propulsion | Up to 2,485 m2 (26,750 sq ft) of sails |
Armament |
|
Diomède was a Téméraire-class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy built at Lorient and launched in 1799 as Union . She was renamed Diomède in 1803.
During the War of the Third Coalition, Diomède was part of a French force that sailed from Brest, France, on 13 December 1805 for what was planned as a 14-month cruise to attack British merchant shipping while avoiding combat with major Royal Navy forces. [1] [2] On 15 December 1805, the French force split into two squadrons which proceeded independently from one another. [1] Diomède was part of the squadron under the overall command of Vice-Admiral Corentin-Urbain Leissègues, which headed across the Atlantic Ocean bound for the Caribbean. [1] During the voyage, Diomède suffered serious damage in a storm off the Azores in late December 1805. [3] [4] She arrived with most of the squadron at French-held Santo Domingo on Hispaniola on 20 January 1806, where Leissègues ordered the ships to be recaulked after their long and difficult transatlantic voyage. [4] [5]
On the morning of 6 February 1806, a Royal Navy squadron under the command of Vice-Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth arrived off Santo Domingo to attack Leissègues's force. [3] Although several of Leissègues's ships were not yet ready for sea, [6] Leissègues ordered them to get underway and sail westward along the coast of Hispaniola toward Nizao. [7] In the resulting Battle of San Domingo, the French squadron maintained close formation, and the five French ships of the line formed a line of battle with Diomède third in line behind Alexandre and Impérial and ahead of Jupiter and Brave. [3] Duckworth ordered his squadron to concentrate fire on the three leading French ships of the line, [3] and accordingly the British 74-gun third-rate ship of the line HMS Spencer opened fire on Impérial and Diomède simultaneously. [8] As the engagement at the head of the French line became confused, with ships of the two sides intermingled and smoke restricting visibility, Diomède came across the 98-gun second-rate ship of the line HMS Atlas and fired a heavy broadside into her, after which Atlas engaged her an close range. [9] [10] Spencer also resumed firing at Diomède. [9] Impérial turned toward shore and Diomède followed her, and late in the morning both ships ran aground parallel to the beach on a reef 1 nautical mile (1.9 km; 1.2 mi) off the coast of Hispaniola between Nizao and Point Catalan, suffering severe hull damage and losing all of their masts. [11] [12] As the British ships moved out of gunnery range, the crews of Diomède and Impérial assembled on deck to abandon ship. [12] Diomède had suffered about 250 casualties. [13] [14]
Leissègues ordered Diomède and Impérial burned as soon as their crews had completed their abandonment of the ships, [4] but before that order could be carried out, boat crews from the fifth-rate frigates HMS Acasta and HMS Magicienne boarded them on 8 February 1806 and captured them without meeting any resistance. [15] The British boarding party took 150 prisoners aboard Diomède including her commanding officer, Captain Jean-Baptiste Henry, and then burned her wreck. [13] [14]
{{
cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)
Scale model of
Achille, sister ship of French ship Diomède (1803), on display at the
Musée national de la Marine in Paris.
| |
History | |
---|---|
France | |
Name | Diomède |
Launched | 1 August 1799 as Union |
Renamed | Diomède 1803 |
Fate |
|
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Téméraire-class ship of the line |
Displacement |
|
Length | 55.87 metres (183.3 ft) (172 pied) |
Beam | 14.90 metres (48 ft 11 in) |
Draught | 7.26 metres (23.8 ft) (22 pied) |
Propulsion | Up to 2,485 m2 (26,750 sq ft) of sails |
Armament |
|
Diomède was a Téméraire-class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy built at Lorient and launched in 1799 as Union . She was renamed Diomède in 1803.
During the War of the Third Coalition, Diomède was part of a French force that sailed from Brest, France, on 13 December 1805 for what was planned as a 14-month cruise to attack British merchant shipping while avoiding combat with major Royal Navy forces. [1] [2] On 15 December 1805, the French force split into two squadrons which proceeded independently from one another. [1] Diomède was part of the squadron under the overall command of Vice-Admiral Corentin-Urbain Leissègues, which headed across the Atlantic Ocean bound for the Caribbean. [1] During the voyage, Diomède suffered serious damage in a storm off the Azores in late December 1805. [3] [4] She arrived with most of the squadron at French-held Santo Domingo on Hispaniola on 20 January 1806, where Leissègues ordered the ships to be recaulked after their long and difficult transatlantic voyage. [4] [5]
On the morning of 6 February 1806, a Royal Navy squadron under the command of Vice-Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth arrived off Santo Domingo to attack Leissègues's force. [3] Although several of Leissègues's ships were not yet ready for sea, [6] Leissègues ordered them to get underway and sail westward along the coast of Hispaniola toward Nizao. [7] In the resulting Battle of San Domingo, the French squadron maintained close formation, and the five French ships of the line formed a line of battle with Diomède third in line behind Alexandre and Impérial and ahead of Jupiter and Brave. [3] Duckworth ordered his squadron to concentrate fire on the three leading French ships of the line, [3] and accordingly the British 74-gun third-rate ship of the line HMS Spencer opened fire on Impérial and Diomède simultaneously. [8] As the engagement at the head of the French line became confused, with ships of the two sides intermingled and smoke restricting visibility, Diomède came across the 98-gun second-rate ship of the line HMS Atlas and fired a heavy broadside into her, after which Atlas engaged her an close range. [9] [10] Spencer also resumed firing at Diomède. [9] Impérial turned toward shore and Diomède followed her, and late in the morning both ships ran aground parallel to the beach on a reef 1 nautical mile (1.9 km; 1.2 mi) off the coast of Hispaniola between Nizao and Point Catalan, suffering severe hull damage and losing all of their masts. [11] [12] As the British ships moved out of gunnery range, the crews of Diomède and Impérial assembled on deck to abandon ship. [12] Diomède had suffered about 250 casualties. [13] [14]
Leissègues ordered Diomède and Impérial burned as soon as their crews had completed their abandonment of the ships, [4] but before that order could be carried out, boat crews from the fifth-rate frigates HMS Acasta and HMS Magicienne boarded them on 8 February 1806 and captured them without meeting any resistance. [15] The British boarding party took 150 prisoners aboard Diomède including her commanding officer, Captain Jean-Baptiste Henry, and then burned her wreck. [13] [14]
{{
cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)