Partenope class
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| Partenope class | |
.jpg) Launch of the Partenope in 1786 |
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| Overview | |
| Type | Ship of the line |
| Shipyard |
Royal shipyard of |
| Keel laying | From 1784 |
| Launch | 1786 to 1795 |
| Commissioning | From 1787 |
| home port | Naples |
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement |
3000 t |
| length |
55.68 m |
| width |
14.40 m |
| Draft |
7.36 m |
| crew |
680 (normal), 720 ( armato in guerra ) |
| drive |
sail |
| Armament |
74 cannons
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The Partenope class was a class of six ships of the line built in Castellammare di Stabia for the Navy of the Kingdom of Naples at the end of the 18th century .
history
The realignment of the navy of the Kingdom of Naples took place from 1779 by John Acton . Its fleet planning envisaged the construction of a total of 19 warships: seven 74-cannon ships , four frigates with 32 cannons each, four jibs with 20 cannons each and four galleons . With these new ships, the southern Italian kingdom should better protect itself against attacks by corsairs of the North African barbarian states .
The 74-gun ships of the line, which were first developed in France, were also preferred in Naples because they were more seaworthy, easier to handle and cheaper than the clumsy first-class three-deckers with over 100 guns. The Neapolitan '74 were among the first warships to be built at the new shipyard in Castellammare di Stabia . The first ship, the Partenope , was built according to plans by the French engineer Jacques-Noël Sané , who brought his colleague Imbert to Naples. Both Imbert and Acton had previously worked in Tuscany .
After the Partenope was launched on August 16, 1786, five more three-masters of the same type were built. There were only minor changes to the type ship in terms of armament , when 30 18-pounders were replaced by better 24-pounders. The armament was on the two closed battery decks and on the main deck. Of the total of six ships, only five could be taken over into the fleet because one was destroyed by fire. The ships distinguished themselves in the fight against corsairs, partly also in the coalition wars against Napoleon Bonaparte . When the latter attacked and occupied Naples at the end of 1798, the English Commodore Campbell gave the order to sink the ships of the Navy in Naples, and thus three ships of the Partenope class, in Naples and Castellammare. They should not fall into the hands of the French revolutionary troops. The other two withdrew to Sicily with the Neapolitan Bourbons and were sold there for demolition a few years later.
Ships of the class
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Partenope
- Keel laying : 1784
- Launched : August 16, 1786
- Notes: Operated in 1795 with the British Mediterranean Fleet under William Hotham of Livorno from
- Location: Sunk in the night from January 8th to 9th, 1799 to block the harbor entrance in Castellammare
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Ruggiero
- Keel laying: September 1786
- Launched: September 15, 1788
- Notes: not quite finished
- Location: destroyed by fire in 1790
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Tancredi
- Keel laying: September 1788
- Launched: September 3, 1789
- Notes: took part in the naval battle of Genoa against the French on March 14, 1795 under William Hotham
- Whereabouts: self-sunk in Naples in January 1799
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Guiscardo
- Keel laying: September 20, 1789
- Launched: May 13, 1791
- Remarks: -
- Whereabouts: self-sunk in Naples in January 1799
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Sannita
- Keel laying: May 1791
- Launched: September 12, 1792
- Notes: Took part in the battle for Toulon in 1793 , withdrew to Sicily with Neapolitan Bourbons at the end of 1798
- Where to ?: Decommissioned in Messina and sold for demolition in 1805
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Archimede
- Keel laying: January 1793
- Launched: September 11, 1795
- Notes: Retired to Sicily with Neapolitan Bourbons
- Whereabouts: decommissioned in Palermo in 1809 and sold for demolition in 1813
Others
The names of these ships later bore six steam frigates that were built in the 1840s and taken over by the Italian Regia Marina in 1861 . The only exception was the frigate Partenope , which was launched in 1833 as a pure sailing ship and only received an additional steam drive in 1862.
literature
- Roberto Spadea (Ed.): La fabbrica delle navi. Storia della cantieristica nel Mezzogiorno d'Italia . Electa Napoli. Naples 1990. ISBN 88-435-3302-9 .