French ship Donawerth (1854)

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Donawerth and French ship Jean Bart.

The Jean Bart, sister-ship of Donawerth. Drawing by Louis Le Breton
History
France
Name	Donawerth
Builder	Arsenal de Lorient
Laid down	27 July 1827
Launched	15 February 1854
Completed	July 1854
Commissioned	1 May 1854
Out of service	Ship reclassified=
Renamed	From Alexandre, 23 November 1839
Fate	Scrapped, 1897
General characteristics (as built)
Class & type	Donawerth-class ship of the line
Displacement	4,231 tonnes
Length	60.5 m (198 ft 6 in) (gun deck)
Beam	16.28 m (53 ft 5 in)
Draught	8.2 m (26 ft 11 in)=
Depth	8.05 m (26 ft 5 in)
Installed power	1,175  ihp (1,191  PS; 876  kW)
Propulsion	1 × shaft; 1 × Horizontal-return connecting rod-steam engine
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Speed	9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph)
Complement	814
Armament	80 muzzle-loading, smoothbore guns Lower gun deck: 16 × 36-pounder long guns, 14 × 22 cm (8.7 in) long Paixhans guns Upper gun deck: 30 × 30-pounder short guns Forecastle & Quarterdeck: 2 × 16 cm (6.3 in) rifled guns, 18 × 30 pdr carronades

Donawerth was the lead ship of her class of steam-powered, third-rate, 80 gun ships of the line built for the French Navy during the 1850s. She had been laid down as a Suffren-class sailing ship of the line, but remained on the stocks until she was chosen for conversion to steam power in 1854. The ship played a minor role in the Crimean War of 1854–1855. Donaworth exchanged names with Jean Bart in 1868, and subsequently served as a training ship.

Description

Donawerth had a length of 60.5 metres (198 ft 6 in) at the gun deck a beam of 16.28 metres (53 ft 5 in) and a depth of hold of 8.05 metres (26 ft 5 in). The ship displaced 4,231 tonnes and had a mean draught of 7.4 metres (24 ft 3 in). Her crew numbered 814 officers and ratings. She was powered by a horizontal-return connecting rod-steam engine that drove the single propeller shaft. The engine, built by Mazeline, was rated at 450 nominal horsepower and produced 1,175 indicated horsepower (1,191  PS ; 876  kW ). Donawerth had a speed of 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) under steam. She was fitted with three masts and ship rigged like the 80-gun sailing ships of the line in service. ^[1]

The muzzle-loading, smoothbore armament of Donawerth consisted of sixteen 36-pounder long guns and fourteen 22 cm (8.7 in) Paixhans guns on the lower gun deck. On the upper gundeck were twenty-four 30-pound short guns. On the quarterdeck and forecastle were a total of two 16 cm (6.3 in) rifled guns and eighteen 30-pounder carronades. ^[1]

Construction and career

Donaworth had been laid down as a 90-gun 3rd-rank Suffren-class ship of the line on 27 July 1827 at the Arsenal de Lorient under the name of Alexandre, but construction was suspended. The ship was renamed Donawerth on 23 November 1839. Her incomplete hull was kept in a covered slipway until she was launched on 15 February 1854. The ship was commissioned on 1 May 1853 and completed in July. Donawerth served as a troopship during the Crimean War. ^[2]

The ship's conversion into a steam-powered ship was ordered on 19 October 1854, although work did not begin until 5 May 1856 at the Arsenal de Cherbourg. Donawerth was re-launched on 27 March 1857 and completed in November. The ship was recommissioned on 1 January 1858. Donawerth exchanged names with Jean Bart in 1868 and she was converted into a training ship for naval cadets. ^{[1] [3]}

Citations

1. Winfield & Roberts, p. 73
2. Winfield & Roberts, p. 65
3. Roche, vol. 1, p. 154

References

• Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours 1 1671–1870. Roche. ISBN   978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC   165892922.
• Winfield, Rif and Roberts, Stephen S. (2015) French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786-1861: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN   978-1-84832-204-2