French ship Orion (1787)

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

Orion was a 4th rank, 74-gun Téméraire-class ship of the line built for the French Navy during the 1780s. Completed in 1788, she played a minor role in the French Revolutionary Wars.

Tourville (left) raking HMS Defence (centre) at the Glorious First of June, while Mucius Scævola duels with her on her port side. Painting by Nicholas Pocock
History
France
Name	Orion
Namesake	Orion Gaius Mucius Scævola
Builder	Rochefort
Laid down	October 1784
Launched	18 April 1787
Completed	1788
Stricken	23 March 1804
Fate	Broken up in 1804
General characteristics
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: 12 × 8 pdr guns, 10 × 36 pdr carronades

Description

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, thirty 18-pounder long guns and thirty 18-pounder long guns on the upper gun deck. On the quarterdeck and forecastle were a total of a dozen 8-pounder long guns and ten 36-pounder carronades.^[1]

Construction and career

Orion was ordered on 15 February 1782 and the ship was named on 1 June. She was laid down at the Arsenal de Rochefort in October 1784 and launched on 17 December 1787. Construction had been delayed by a lack of carpenters. The ship was completed sometime the following year.^[1]

In 1790, Orion was under Buor de La Charoulière.^[2] She was renamed Mucius Scévola in November 1793 and then Mucius on 30 November. In 1794 she took part in the battle of the Glorious First of June, helping her sister ship Impétueux battling HMS Marlborough, as well as in both the First Battle of Groix and the Battle of Groix in June 1795. In December 1796 she took part in the Expédition d'Irlande, an attempt at landing an army in Ireland, before being struck and broken up in Brest.^[3] The ship was condemned on 13 October 1803 and her demolition was completed on 8 April 1804.^[1]