French ship Castiglione (1860)

Castiglione was ordered as a third-rank, 90-gun sailing Suffren-class ship of the line for the French Navy, but was converted to a steam-powered ship in the 1850s while under construction. Completed in 1861 the ship participated in the Second French intervention in Mexico the following year. She was converted into a troopship in 1866 and was hulked in 1881, serving as a barracks ship until she was scrapped in 1900.

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Castiglione.
1/20th scale model of Suffren, lead ship of Castiglione's class, on display at the Musée national de la Marine
History
France
Name: Castiglione
Namesake: Battle of Castiglione
Builder: Arsenal de Toulon
Laid down: October 1835
Launched: 4 July 1860
Completed: May 1861
Commissioned: 15 July 1860
Decommissioned: 1 June 1867
Reclassified:
Stricken: 11 October 1881
Fate: Scrapped, 1900
General characteristics
Class and type: Suffren-class ship of the line
Displacement: 4 070 tonnes
Length: 60.50 m (198.5 ft)
Beam: 16.28 m (53.4 ft)
Draught: 7.40 m (24.3 ft)
Propulsion: 3114 m² of sails
Complement: 810 to 846 men
Armament:
Armour: 6.97 cm of timber

Description

The Suffren-class ships were enlarged versions of the 80-gun Bucentaure-class ships of the line that had been designed by naval architect Jacques-Noël Sané. The conversion to steam power involved cutting Castiglione's frame in half amidships and building a new section to house the propulsion machinery and coal bunkers. The ship had a length at the waterline of 72.99 meters (239 ft 6 in), a beam of 16.28 meters (53 ft 5 in) and a depth of hold of 8.04 meters (26 ft 5 in). The ship displaced 5,137 metric tons (5,056 long tons) and had a draught of 8.15 meters (26 ft 9 in) at deep load. Her crew numbered 913 officers and ratings. Details are lacking on her propulsion machinery, the only information available is that her two steam engines were rated at 800 nominal horsepower and produced 2,259 indicated horsepower (1,685 kW) which gave her a speed of 11.77 knots (21.80 km/h; 13.54 mph) during her sea trials.[1]

The ship's armament consisted of eighteen 30-pounder (164.7 mm (6.5 in)) smoothbore cannon and sixteen 223.3 mm (8.8 in) Paixhans guns on the lower gundeck and thirty-four 30-pounder cannon on the upper gundeck. On the quarterdeck and forecastle were twenty 163 mm (6.4 in) Paixhans guns and a pair of 163 mm rifled muzzle-loading guns.[2]

Construction and career

Castiglione was laid down in October 1835 at the Arsenal de Toulon. She was ordered to be converted to steam power on 19 October 1854. The conversion began on 2 January 1856 and the ship was launched on 4 July 1860. Castiglione was commissioned on 15 July although her sea trials did not begin until May 1861.[3]Castiglione took part in the French intervention in Mexico in 1862. She was struck on 11 October 1881 and used as a barracks hulk. She was eventually broken up in 1900.[4]

Citations
  1. Winfield & Roberts, pp. 63, 73
  2. Winfield & Roberts, p. 72
  3. Winfield & Roberts, pp. 65, 73
  4. Roche, p. 101
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References
  • Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. Tome I: 1671–1870. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.
  • Winfield, Rif & Roberts, Stephen S. (2015). French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786–1861: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-204-2.
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