French ship Ville de Varsovie (1808)

History
The Robuste, sister-ship of the Ville de Varsovie
France
Name:	Ville de Varsovie
Namesake:	Warsaw
Ordered:	30 April 1804
Builder:	Rochefort
Laid down:	22 March 1805
Launched:	10 May 1808
Commissioned:	18 June 1808
Fate:	Destroyed by fire on 13 April 1809
General characteristics
Class and type:	Bucentaure-class
Type:	ship of the line
Tons burthen:	2000 tonnes
Length:	59.3 m (194.55 ft) (overall) 53.92 m (176.90 ft) (keel)
Beam:	15.3 m (50.20 ft)
Depth of hold:	7.8 m (25.59 ft)
Propulsion:	Sail
Sail plan:	2,683 m² (28,879.57 sq ft)
Complement:	866
Armament:	80 guns 30 × 36-pounders 32 × 24-pounders 18 × 12-pounders (12 aft, 6 forecastle) 6 × 36-pounder howitzers

The Ville de Varsovie was a Bucentaure-class 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, designed by Chaumont from original plans by Sané.

Built as Tonnant, she was renamed Ville de Varsovie ("City of Warsaw") while still under construction. At the time, Napoleon established the Duchy of Warsaw and made a considerable effort to mobilize Polish national sentiment on France's behalf.

She was commissioned on 18 June 1808 under captain Mahé, and was part of the Rochefort squadron.

A British party destroyed her by fire by after running aground during the Battle of the Basque Roads.

References

Jean-Michel Roche, Dictionnaire des Bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours, tome I

Bucentaure-class ship-of-the-line

Bucentaure Neptune (1803) Robuste Ville de Varsovie Donawerth Eylau Friedland Sceptre Tilsitt Auguste Pacificateur Illustre Diadème Conquérant Duquesne Magnifique Centaure Neptune (1818) Algésiras Jupiter Vesuvio Mars Alexandre Tibre Atlas Fougueux

Preceded by: Tonnant class Followed by: Suffren class List of ships of the line of France

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