French ship Pultusk (1807)

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

Pultusk was a 4th rank, 74-gun petite Téméraire-class ship of the line built for the French Navy during the first decade of the 19th century. Completed in 1808, she played a minor role in the Napoleonic Wars.

Scale model of Achille, sister ship of French ship Pultusk (1807), on display at the Musée national de la Marine in Paris.
History
France
Name	Pultusk
Namesake	Battle of Pułtusk
Builder	Antwerp
Laid down	April 1804
Launched	20 September 1807
Decommissioned	1817
Fate	Ceded to Holland 1814, broken up 1817
General characteristics
Class & type	petit Téméraire-class ship of the line
Displacement	2,781 tonneaux
Tons burthen	1,381 port tonneaux
Length	53.97 m (177 ft 1 in)
Beam	14.29 m (46 ft 11 in)
Draught	6.72 m (22.0 ft)
Depth of hold	6.9 m (22 ft 8 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 & 14 × 36 pdr carronades

Background and description

Pultusk was one of the petit modèle of the Téméraire class that was specially intended for construction in some of the shipyards in countries occupied by the French, where there was less depth of water than in the main French shipyards.^[1] The ships had a length of 53.97 metres (177 ft 1 in), a beam of 14.29 metres (46 ft 11 in) and a depth of hold of 6.9 metres (22 ft 8 in). The ships displaced 2,781 tonneaux and had a mean draught of 6.72 metres (22 ft 1 in). They had a tonnage of 1,381 port tonneaux. Their crew numbered 705 officers and ratings during wartime. They were fitted with three masts and ship rigged.^[2]

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. The petit modèle ships ordered in 1803–1804 were intended to mount sixteen 8-pounder long guns on their forecastle and quarterdeck, plus four 36-pounder obusiers on the poop deck (dunette). Later ships were intended to have fourteen 8-pounders and ten 36-pounder carronades without any obusiers, but the numbers of 8-pounders and carronades actually varied between a total of 20 to 26 weapons. Pultusk had a dozen 8-pounders and 14 carronades.^[2]

Construction and career

Pultusk was ordered on 24 April 1804 and named Audacieux on 23 February 1805. The ship was laid down in April in Antwerp and launched on 20 September 1807. She was commissioned the following day with and completed in March 1808.^[2] Only after the Danish crew of the ship remarked about the spelling of the name, this was corrected to Pultusk, with an icy comment from the Emperor that "the French people didn't know their victories."^[3] Pultusk was part of the Scheldt squadron under Vice-Amiral Missiessy. She was ceded to Holland under the Treaty of Paris,^[4] and entered Dutch service as Waterloo, being broken up in 1817.^[2]