French ship Pluton (1804)

For other ships of the same name, see French ship Pluton.
The battle of Trafalgar, by Auguste Mayer. The Pluton is depicted at the centre
History
France
Name: Pluton
Namesake: Pluto
Ordered: June 1803
Builder: Toulon
Laid down: August 1803
Launched: 17 January 1805
Completed: March 1805
Captured: By Spain at Cadiz in June 1808
Spain
Name: Pluton
Namesake: Pluto
Acquired: 1808
Renamed: Montañes
Fate: Broken up in 1816
General characteristics [1]
Class & type: Téméraire-class ship of the line
Displacement: 2,900 tonnes
Length: 55.87 metres (183.3 ft) (172 pied)
Beam: 14.90 metres (48 ft 11 in) (44.5 pied)
Draught: 7.26 metres (23.8 ft) (22 pied)
Propulsion: Up to 2,485 m2 (26,750 sq ft) of sails
Complement: 3 officers + 690 men
Armament:

Pluton was a Téméraire class 74-gun French ship of the line built at Toulon. She was one of two prototypes for a derivative sub-class of the original design; this sub-class (somewhat smaller than the primary design) was specially intended for construction in some of the shipyards in states occupied by the French, where there was less depth of water than in the main French shipyards. Although the Pluton (and her sister, the Borée) were built at Toulon, all other vessels of this sub-class were built in these overseas yards, notably at Antwerp but also at Genoa, Trieste, Venice, Amsterdam, Flushing and Rotterdam.

The Pluton took part in the Battle of Trafalgar under Captain Julien Cosmao, and escaped to Cádiz with other ships. Two days later, on 23 October 1805, she was the flagship of the counter-attack from Cádiz, together with Indomptable, Neptune, Rayo and San Francisco de Asis. They managed to recapture the Santa Ana and Algésiras. To prevent their recapture, the British scuttled the Intrépide and Neptuno. Rayo and San Francisco de Asis were wrecked on their journey back.

She was captured by Spain in Cadiz in 1808 and commissioned in the Spanish Navy as Pluton. She was later renamed Montañes, and was eventually broken up in 1816.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Clouet, Alain (2007). "La marine de Napoléon III : classe Téméraire - caractéristiques". dossiersmarine.free.fr (in French). Retrieved 14 April 2013.
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