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'Le Bucentaure' 80 guns, 1803


Ned Loe

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Le Bucentaure


 


Bucentaure was an 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, and the lead ship of her class. She was the flagship of Vice-Admiral Latouche Tréville, who died on board on 18 August 1804.


 

 

The Bucentaure at Trafalgar

Vice-Admiral Villeneuve hoisted his flag on 6 November 1804. Bucentaure hosted the Franco-Spanish war council while sheltered from the British fleet at Cadiz. The vote was to remain in safe waters (a decision later overruled by Admiral Villeneuve) During the council, Spanish general Escaño complained that the atmospheric pressure was descending (a sign of approaching storms). French vice-admiral Magon famously retorted "the thing descending here is braveness". This offended Admiral Gravina and other Spanish officers who did not oppose later the imprudent order of taking to sea.

 

At the Battle of Trafalgar, on 21 October 1805, she was commanded by Captain Jean-Jacques Magendie. Admiral Nelson's HMS Victory, leading the weather column of the British fleet, broke the French line just astern of Bucentaure and just ahead of Redoutable. Victory raked her less protected stern and the vessel lost 197 men and 85 were wounded (including Captain Magendie); Admiral Villeneuve was lucky to survive, but this effectively put Bucentaure out of most of the fight. After three hours of fighting, she surrendered to Captain James Atcherly of the Marines from HMS Conqueror.

 

Villeneuve is supposed to have asked to whom he was surrendering. On being told it was Captain Pellew, he replied, 'There is no shame in surrendering to the gallant Sir Edward Pellew.' When he was informed that the Conqueror's captain (Israel Pellew) was Sir Edward's brother, he said, 'England is fortunate to have two such brothers.'

 

In the following days, Bucentaure's crew rose up against the British prize crew, and recaptured the ship. However, she was wrecked in the gale-force storm of 23 October 1805.

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Found these online, so you can see how it will look after it is finished:


 


This is not an actual NA game model!!


 


43.jpg


 


42.jpg


 


Escalier-HD-09.jpg


 


72.jpg


 


NA WIP:


 


nDy8avH.png


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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

I just want to wish happy 212th birthday to my first/second most favourite ship of all time. (First is Tonnant, but this being an improvement on it, it might still count.)

 

Anyways,

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY :wub:

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  • 2 weeks later...

I don't want to sound needy and overexcited, but do we know anything new about L'Buc? Like her color scheme, armament (how will the obusieres be represented)?

 

Or maybe, when is she coming out? :-)

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  • 3 weeks later...

Any news on this beauty?

 

She was named as a thank you (or insult, depending on who's s asking) to Venetians. After capture of Venice, Napoleon ordered all gold and ornaments to be stripped from Venetian state barge (named Bucentaure). 4 years later they launched this beauty and named her Bucenature too.

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Here I am again, asking for any news on this 42lbs armed beauty :-)....

42lb?

As a reminder:

Name in setting construction: le Bucentaure

Date 1802-1805 in French Navy

Plans by J.N. Sané (Sané-Borda typ plans)

Constructed in Toulon

Data:

Length x beam x moulded depht

182'6" x 47' x 23'6"

59,28m x 15,27m x 7,63m

Artillery of origin:

1st deck - deck 2nd - 3rd deck - Fc and Qd

30-gun of 36bl - 32-gun of 24bl - 18-gun of 12bl + 6 howitzers of 36bl

total: 86-gun

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42.

 

Since she mounted 36-livre guns, that actually fired shot that weigh almost 40 lbs, closest thing to put on her in game is 42 lbs gun, until devs find time to model 39/40 lbs gun.

 

Or is my train of thought wrong?

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Data:

Length x beam x moulded depht

182'6" x 47' x 23'6"

59,28m x 15,27m x 7,63m

Artillery of origin:

1st deck - deck 2nd - 3rd deck - Fc and Qd

30-gun of 36bl - 32-gun of 24bl - 18-gun of 12bl + 6 howitzers of 36bl

total: 86-gun

 

French measurements don't do the Bucentaure justice...   :P

 

The french ft is longer than the british ft so the measured values are smaller, in imperial units she is 194' 6" x 50' 1" x 25', and Livre to Pound the guns are 39lb, 26lb and 13lb.

 

Bucentaure is an immense ship, bigger than the Victory and only slightly smaller than the Santisima, she also carries 62 heavy guns compared to the Victory's 58. At least a match for the British 98 gun 2nd rates and 100 gun 1sts (the older 2nds built as 90 gun ships would be distinctly outclassed).

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  • 2 months later...

making bucentaure is a bit shamish for us french captain. It's already victory to rememeber us this terrible defeat that is trafalgar. Making bucenaure is just trolling us against.

Getting "redoutable" would have been more correct.

After trafalgar and the peace, british send back to french a ship they capture on traf. French said they didn't want to get back defeated ship and prefer british to destroy it rather to giving it back to us.

 

Bucentaure will be alwais associated to an humiliate defeat. Making bucentaure ig is just harassing our national love.

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Why not! :)

There are 26 vessels of the same series as le Bucentaure, 6 unfinished.

But that leaves at least 25 other names.

Bucentautre

Neptune

Robuste

Tonnant

Saturne (1805-1807 = Eylau-1829)

Donawerth

Tilsitt

Friedland

Diadème

Illustre

Pacificateur

Auguste

Conquérant

Sceptre

Magnifique

Zélandais

Brabançon

Alexandre (unfinished)

Tibre (unfinished)

Atlas (unfinished)

Mars (unfinished)

Centaure

Jupiter

Fougueux (unfinished)

Saturne (1812 unfinished)

Algesira

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