French ship Héros (1813)

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

Héros was a first-rate 118-gun Océan-class ship of the line built for the French Navy during the 1810s. Completed in 1814, the ship did not play a significant role in the Napoleonic Wars. She was never commissioned and was struck from the navy list in 1828.

1/48 scale model of the Océan class 120-gun ship of the line Commerce de Marseille, sister-ship of the Héros. On display at Marseille naval museum.
History
France
Name	Héros
Namesake	French ship Héros
Launched	15 August 1813
Fate	Condemned 1828
General characteristics
Class & type	Océan-class ship of the line
Displacement	5,095 t (5,015 long tons)
Tons burthen	2,794–2,930 (bm)
Length	63.83 m (209 ft 5 in) (gun deck)
Beam	16.4 m (53 ft 10 in)
Draught	8.14 m (26 ft 8 in)
Propulsion	sail, 3,250 m2 (35,000 sq ft)
Sail plan	full-rigged ship
Complement	1,130
Armament	Lower gun deck:: 32 × 36 pdr guns Middle gun deck: 34 × 24 pdr guns Upper gun deck: 34 × 18 pdr guns Forecastle & quarterdeck: 14 × 8 pdr guns + 12 × 36 pdr carronades

Description

The later Océan-class ships had a length of 63.83 metres (209 ft 5 in) at the gun deck a beam of 16.4 metres (53 ft 10 in) and a depth of hold of 8.12 metres (26 ft 8 in). The ships displaced 5,095 tonnes (5,015 long tons) and had a mean draught of 8.14 metres (26 ft 8 in). They had a tonnage of 2,794–2,930 tons burthen. Their crew numbered 1,130 officers and ratings. They were fitted with three masts and ship rigged with a sail area of 3,250 square metres (35,000 sq ft).^[1]

The muzzle-loading, smoothbore armament of the Océan class consisted of thirty-two 36-pounder long guns on the lower gun deck, thirty-four 24-pounder long guns on the middle gun deck and on the upper gundeck were thirty-four 18-pounder long guns. On the quarterdeck and forecastle were a total of fourteen 8-pounder long guns and a dozen 36-pounder carronades.^[2]

Construction and career

Héros was ordered on 20 February 1812, laid down at the Arsenal de Toulon in April 1812. The ship was named on 21 May after Héros, flagship of Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez during the Anglo-French War. She was launched on 15 August 1813 and completed in January 1814. Héros was disarmed on 1 April 1816, stricken on 10 March 1828 and hulked without having ever been commissioned. When Héros was broken up for scrap is unknown.^[2][3]