French frigate Melpomène (1890)

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

Melpomène was a schoolship frigate of the French Navy.

History
France
Name	Melpomène
Namesake	Melpomene
Ordered	9 August 1887
Builder	Rochefort [1]
Laid down	19 October 1883 [1]
Launched	20 August 1887 [1]
Commissioned	15 September 1890 [1]
Decommissioned	1904 [1]
Fate	Scrapped 1943
General characteristics
Type	Frigate
Length	53.5 metres
Beam	13.8 metres
Draught	6.5 metres
Propulsion	1769 m² of sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	180 men
Armament	8 138mm guns 4 37mm guns

Career

Melpomène was ordered in August 1883 as a replacement for Résolue, to serve as a gabier schoolship. She departed for her first training cruise on 23 August 1890, sailing to Dakar and calling the Canary Islands and Tenerife on the way, before returning to Brest on 25 May 1891. ^[1]

She performed similar cruises in the following years until 1904.^[1]

Fate

In 1904, Melpomène was struck from the Navy lists. She was hulked in Lorient in 1923. On 19 June 1940, she sank at her mooring, and was broken up in 1943. ^[1]

Legacy

Melpomène was the subject of a post stamp in 1974.^[2][3][4]