French ship Artésien

Model on display at the Musée de la Marine
History
Kingdom of France
Namesake: Artois
Builder: Joseph Ollivier
Laid down: Brest, 1764
Launched: 1765
Out of service: 1785
Fate: Engineering hulk
General characteristics
Class and type: Artésien class ship of the line
Displacement: 1260 tonnes
Length: 47 m (154 ft)
Beam: 12 m (39 ft)
Draught: 6 m (20 ft)
Armament:
  • 64 guns:
  • 26 24-pounders
  • 28 12-pounders
  • 10 6-pounders
Armour: timber

The Artésien (“Artesian”) was a 64-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. She was funded by a don des vaisseaux donation from the Estates of Artois.

Artésien was built in 1765 as a part of a series of 12 ships of the line began by Choiseul to compensate for the losses endured by the French Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War.[1] She was paid by the province of Artois and Flander, and named in its honour, according to the practice of the time.[2]

The Artésien took part in the American revolutionary war under Suffren, departing in 1781. Off Cape Verde, Artésien detected an English squadron, resulting in the Battle of Porto Praya.[3]

Artésien was decommissioned in 1785 and used as a shear hulk.

A fine 1/28th scale model was used to instruct Louis XVI in naval studies. The model is now on display at the Musée de la Marine.

Notes and references

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Artésien (ship, 1765).
  1. (French) Archéologie et modélisme d'arsenal
  2. (French) Mon carnet de Bretagne
  3. (French) Liste des régiments et vaisseaux. Théatre d'opérations : Etats-Unis 1777-1782
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