French ship Aigle (1800)

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

Aigle was a 4th rank, 74-gun Téméraire-class ship of the line built for the French Navy during the 1790s. Completed in 1801, she played a minor role in the Napoleonic Wars.

Drawing of the main features of Aigle
History
France
Name	Aigle
Namesake	Eagle
Builder	Rochefort
Laid down	1794
Launched	6 July 1800
Captured	By the Royal Navy, 21 October 1805 By the French Navy, 22 October 1805
Fate	Wrecked 23 October 1805
General characteristics
Class & type	Téméraire-class ship of the line
Displacement	3,069 tonneaux
Tons burthen	1,537 port tonneaux
Length	55.87 m (183 ft 4 in)
Beam	14.46 m (47 ft 5 in)
Draught	7.15 m (23.5 ft)
Depth of hold	7.15 m (23 ft 5 in)
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Crew	705
Armament	74 guns: Lower gun deck: 28 × 36 pdr guns Upper gun deck: 30 × 18 pdr guns Forecastle and Quarterdeck: 16 × 8 pdr guns

Description

Designed by Jacques-Noël Sané, the Téméraire-class ships had a length of 55.87 metres (183 ft 4 in), a beam of 14.46 metres (47 ft 5 in) and a depth of hold of 7.15 metres (23 ft 5 in). The ships displaced 3,069 tonneaux and had a mean draught of 7.15 metres (23 ft 5 in). They had a tonnage of 1,537 port tonneaux. Their crew numbered 705 officers and ratings during wartime. They were fitted with three masts and ship rigged.^[1]

The muzzle-loading, smoothbore armament of the Téméraire class consisted of twenty-eight 36-pounder long guns on the lower gun deck and thirty 18-pounder long guns on the upper gun deck. On the quarterdeck and forecastle were a total of sixteen 8-pounder long guns. Beginning with the ships completed after 1787, the armament of the Téméraires began to change with the addition of four 36-pounder obusiers on the poop deck (dunette). Some ships had instead twenty 8-pounders.^[2]

Construction and career

Aigle was laid down at the Arsenal de Rochefort on 26 December 1794 and named on 23 March 1795. The ship was launched on 6 July 1800, completed in February 1801 and commissioned on 14 April.^[3] In 1805 she sailed to the West Indies with her sister ship Algésiras where they joined a French fleet under Vice-Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve. Aigle took part in the Battle of Trafalgar in October.^[4] She was captured during the battle by a boarding party from HMS Defiance.^[5] On the following day, her crew rose up against the British prize crew, and recaptured the ship. However, she was wrecked in the storm of 23 October.^[6]