BUCENTAURE of 1804

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aukepalmhof
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BUCENTAURE of 1804

Post by aukepalmhof » Thu Jan 14, 2021 8:49 pm

Built as a ship-of-the-line at the Arsenal at Toulon for the French Navy.
1803 Keel laid down.
1804 Launched under the name BUCENTAURE one of the Tonnant class.
Tonnage 1.630 tons, dim. 51.2 x 14.2 x 6m. (draught).
Armament 30 – 36 pdr. lower deck, 32 – 24 pdr. upper deck, for-castle, and poop deck 18 – 12pdrs., 6 – 36 pdr. carronades.
Crew 840.
1804 Completed.

She was first the flagship of Vice-Admiral Latouche Tréville, but after he died on board on 18 August 1804, Vice Admiral P.Ch.J.B.S. Villeneuve on 06 November 1804 hoisted his flag on the BUCENTAURE.

She took part in the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805, at that time she was under command of Captain Jean-Jacques Magendie, and still the flagship of Villeneuve.
Admiral Nelson on board the HMS VICTORY, leading the weather column of the British fleet, broke the French line just astern of BUCENTAURE and just ahead of the REDOUTABLE.
A broadside fired by the VICTORY raked the BUCENTAURE in the less protected stern, killing many men under which Captain Magendie, Vice-Admiral Villeneuve was lucky he survived.
The BUCENTAURE was so damaged that she effectively was put out of most of the fight.

Three hours later BUCENTAURE struck her flag and she surrendered to Captain James Atcherly of the Marines of HMS CONQUEROR.

Of the crew of the BUCENTAURER, 192 men were killed and 85 wounded.

After the surrender Vice-Admiral Villeneuve was transferred to HMS MARS
.
A British prize-crew from HMS CONQUEROR was put on board under command of Lieut. R Spear but on her way to Gibraltar during the storm the next day she was not so lucky, she was drifting near the shore, and had to anchor near the Castle of San Sebastian, near Cadiz, Spain

Then the French prisoners retook the vessel, but on 22/ 23 October she was wrecked on the Puerques.
The British prize crew and the French crew were almost all rescued by boats of a French frigate.
When the British prize crew later was relieved they declared that they were well treated after their rescue.

On the Gambia stamp is she the vessel on the left side of the stamp, the other is HMS VICTORY.

Source: http://wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_B ... %281804%29 The lost ships of the Royal Navy 1793-1900 by W.P.Gosset.
Gambia 2005 D10 sg?, scott?
Paraguay 1971 12.45G The stamp is designed after a painting made by Auguste Ètienne François Mayer, showing the French BUCENTAURE dismasted in the middle between two British warships, on the right most probably the HMS TEMERAIRE. The painting is in the Marine Museum of Paris.

French Polynesia 1976 24f sg 212, scott? (about this stamp is given viewtopic.php?f=2&t=17556
Attachments
2005 Victory-firing-at-Franch-flagship-Bucentaure.jpg
Bucentaure in Battle of Trafalgar-Auguste_Mayer.jpg
1971 battle of Trafalgar-A-Mayer.jpg
1976 bicennial of-the-United-States.jpg

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