French ship Tilsitt (1854)

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Tilsitt.

1/20th scale model of Suffren, lead ship of Tilsitt's class, on display at the Musée national de la Marine
History
France
Name	Tilsitt
Namesake	Treaties of Tilsit
Builder	Cherbourg
Laid down	2 March 1832
Launched	30 March 1854
Stricken	22 July 1872
Fate	Scrapped
General characteristics
Class & type	Breslaw-class ship of the line
Displacement	4,289 tonneaux
Length	63.54 m (208 ft 6 in) (gun deck)
Beam	16.28 m (53 ft 5 in)
Draught	8.44 m (27 ft 8 in)=
Depth	8.05 m (26 ft 5 in)
Propulsion	1 × shaft; 1 × Horizontal-return connecting rod-steam engine
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	814
Armament	80 muzzle-loading, smoothbore guns Lower gun deck: 16 × 30 pdr long guns, 14 × 22 cm (8.7 in) long Paixhans guns Upper gun deck: 30 × 30 pdr short guns Forecastle & Quarterdeck: 2 × 16 cm (6.3 in) rifled guns, 12 × 30 pdr short guns, 6 × 30 pdr carronades

Tilsitt was a steam-powered, third-rate, 80 gun Breslaw-class ship 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 in 1832, but remained on the stocks until the ship was launched in 1854 and completed later the same year. Tilsitt played a minor role in the Crimean War of 1854–1855. The ship was chosen for conversion to steam power in 1854.

Description

Tilsitt had a length of 63.54 metres (208 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 4289 tonneaux and had a mean draught of 8.44 metres (27 ft 8 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 Arsenal de Brest, was rated at 500 nominal horsepower. 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 Breslaw 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, a dozen 30-pounder short guns, and six 30-pounder carronades. ^[1]

Construction and career

Tilsitt had been laid down as a 90-gun 3rd-rank Suffren-class ship of the line on 20 August 1832 at the Arsenal de Cherbourg under the name of Diomède, but construction was suspended. The ship was renamed Tilsitt on 23 November 1839. Her incomplete hull was kept in a covered slipway until she was launched on 30 March 1854. The ship was commissioned on 20 May 1854 and completed in June. ^[2] Breslaw served as a troopship during the Crimean War. ^[3]

The ship's conversion into a steam-powered ship was ordered on 19 October 1854, although work did not begin until 9 February 1856 at the Arsenal de Brest. Tilsitt was re-launched later that year, completed in October 1859 and recommissioned on 1 January 1860. ^[1] She served as a troopship during the French intervention in Mexico in 1862–1863 before becoming a prison hulk for prisoners of the Paris Commune. ^[3]

Citations

1. Winfield & Roberts, p. 73
2. Winfield & Roberts, p. 65
3. Roche, vol. 1, p. 439

References

• 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
• Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours 1 1671 - 1870. Roche. p. 439. ISBN   978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC   165892922.