French ship Ajax (1806)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Scale model of Achille, sister ship of French ship Ajax (1806), on display at the Musée national de la Marine in Paris. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
  France | |
| Name | Ajax |
| Namesake | Ajax |
| Builder | Lorient |
| Laid down | 23 November 1804 |
| Launched | 17 June 1806 |
| Decommissioned | 1815 |
| Fate | Broken up |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Téméraire-class ship of the line |
| Displacement | 3,069 tonneaux |
| Tons burthen | 1,537 port tonneaux |
| Length | 55.87 m (183 ft 4 in) |
| Beam | 14.46 m (47 ft 5 in) |
| Draught | 7.15 m (23.5 ft) |
| Depth of hold | 7.15 m (23 ft 5 in) |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Crew | 705 |
| Armament |
|
Ajax was a 74-gun Téméraire-class ship of the line built for the French Navy during the 1790s. Completed in 1806, she played a minor role in the Napoleonic Wars.
Designed by Jacques-Noël Sané, the Téméraire-class ships had a length of 55.87 metres (183 ft 4 in), a beam of 14.46 metres (47 ft 5 in) and a depth of hold of 7.15 metres (23 ft 5 in). The ships displaced 3,069 tonneaux and had a mean draught of 7.15 metres (23 ft 5 in). They had a tonnage of 1,537 port tonneaux. Their crew numbered 705 officers and ratings during wartime. They were fitted with three masts and ship rigged.[1]
The muzzle-loading, smoothbore armament of the Téméraire class consisted of twenty-eight 36-pounder long guns on the lower gun deck and thirty 18-pounder long guns on the upper gun deck. On the quarterdeck and forecastle were a total of sixteen 8-pounder long guns. Beginning with the ships completed after 1787, the armament of the Téméraires began to change with the addition of four 36-pounder obusiers on the poop deck (dunette). Some ships had instead twenty 8-pounders.[2]