French ship Pluton (1804)

Pluton was a Téméraire class 74-gun French ship of the line built at Toulon. She was one of two prototypes for a derivative sub-class of the original design; this sub-class (slightly smaller than the primary design) was specially intended for construction in some of the shipyards in states occupied by the French, where there was less depth of water than in the main French shipyards. Although the Pluton (and her sister, the Borée) were built at Toulon, all other vessels of this sub-class were built in these overseas yards, notably at Antwerp but also at Genoa, Trieste, Venice, Amsterdam, Flushing and Rotterdam.

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

The battle of Trafalgar, by Auguste Mayer. The Pluton is depicted at the centre
History
France
Name:	Pluton
Namesake:	Pluto
Ordered:	June 1803
Builder:	Toulon
Laid down:	August 1803
Launched:	17 January 1805
Completed:	March 1805
Captured:	By Spain at Cadiz on 14 June 1808
Spain
Name:	Pluton
Namesake:	Pluto
Acquired:	14 June 1808
Renamed:	Montañes
Fate:	Broken up in 1816
General characteristics [1]
Class and type:	Téméraire-class ship of the line (Pluton sub-class)
Displacement:	2,900 tonnes
Length:	54.90 metres (180.1 ft) (169 pied) gundeck 53.97 metres (177.1 ft) (166 pied 2 pouces) keel
Beam:	14.29 metres (46 ft 11 in) (44 pied)
Draught:	6.72 metres (22.0 ft) (20 pied 8 pouces)
Propulsion:	Up to 2,485 m^2 (26,750 sq ft) of sails
Complement:	12 officers + 693 men
Armament:	74 guns Lower deck 28 × 36-pounder long guns Upper deck 30 × 24-pounder long guns Quarter deck 10 × 8-pounder long guns Quarter deck 4 × 36-pounder carronades Forecastle 6 × 8-pounder long guns

The Pluton took part in the Battle of Trafalgar under Captain Julien Cosmao-Kerjulien, and escaped to Cádiz with other ships. Two days later, on 23 October 1805, she was the flagship of the counter-attack from Cádiz, together with Indomptable, Neptune, Rayo and San Francisco de Asis. They managed to recapture the Santa Ana and Algésiras. To prevent their recapture, the British scuttled the Intrépide and Neptuno. Rayo and San Francisco de Asis were wrecked on their journey back.

She was captured by Spain in Cadiz on 14 June 1808 and commissioned in the Spanish Navy as Pluton. She was renamed Montañes on 20 April 1810, and was eventually broken up in 1816.

See also

• List of ships of the line of France

References

1. Clouet, Alain (2007). "La marine de Napoléon III : classe Téméraire – caractéristiques". dossiersmarine.free.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 23 March 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2013.

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