French battleship Napoléon (1850)

Type

Ship of the Line

Period

19th Century

Nation

France

Overview: Napoléon was a 90-gun French Navy ship of the line launched in 1850 and is regarded as the first purpose-built steam battleship in history, designed from the outset around screw propulsion rather than as a converted sailing ship. She was the lead ship of the nine-vessel Napoléon class designed by naval engineer Henri Dupuy de Lôme, and her success touched off a building race with Britain that helped drive the transition from sail to steam battle fleets. Specifications: As built she displaced roughly 5,120 tonnes, measured about 77.8 m (255 ft) in length with a 17 m (55 ft 9 in) beam and 8.4 m draught, and carried 90 guns (a mix of 30-pounders and 22 cm pieces) with a crew of about 910. Propulsion combined full sailing rig with a two-cylinder Indret geared steam engine of 960 nominal horsepower turning a single screw, giving her a trial speed of nearly 14 knots, exceptional for a wooden two/three-decker of the era. Service History: Ordered in 1847 and laid down at Toulon in 1848, she was launched on 16 May 1850 (after being renamed several times, from Prince de Joinville to 24 Février and finally Napoléon) and commissioned in 1852. She served through the Crimean War era, where her steam performance drew wide international attention, before being stricken in the 1870s and eventually broken up in 1886. Notable Facts: Napoléon retained a traditional wooden hull with heavy timber protection rather than the iron armor originally considered for her, preserving the fine sailing lines of contemporary ships of the line while adding auxiliary steam power. Her success directly influenced France's subsequent ironclad program, including La Gloire in 1859, and prompted Britain to accelerate its own screw battleship and ironclad construction.