French ship Tilsitt (1854)
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 1/20th scale model of Suffren, lead ship of Tilsitt's class, on display at the Musée national de la Marine | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Tilsitt |
| Namesake | Treaties of Tilsit |
| Builder | Cherbourg |
| Laid down | 2 March 1832 |
| Launched | 30 March 1854 |
| Stricken | 22 July 1872 |
| Fate | Scrapped |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Breslaw-class ship of the line |
| Displacement | 4,289 tonnes |
| Length | 63.54 m (208 ft 6 in) (gun deck) |
| Beam | 16.28 m (53 ft 5 in) |
| Draught | 8.44 m (27 ft 8 in)= |
| Depth | 8.05 m (26 ft 5 in) |
| Propulsion | 1 × shaft; 1 × Horizontal-return connecting rod-steam engine |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Complement | 814 |
| Armament |
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Tilsitt was a steam-powered, third-rate, 80 gun Breslaw-class ship of the line built for the French Navy during the 1850s. She had been laid down as a Suffren-class sailing ship of the line in 1832, but remained on the stocks until the ship was launched in 1854 and completed later the same year. Tilsitt played a minor role in the Crimean War of 1854–1855. The ship was chosen for conversion to steam power in 1854.
Tilsitt had a length of 63.54 metres (208 ft 6 in) at the gun deck a beam of 16.28 metres (53 ft 5 in) and a depth of hold of 8.05 metres (26 ft 5 in). The ship displaced 4289 tonnes and had a mean draught of 8.44 metres (27 ft 8 in). Her crew numbered 814 officers and ratings. She was powered by a horizontal-return connecting rod-steam engine that drove the single propeller shaft. The engine, built by Arsenal de Brest, was rated at 500 nominal horsepower. She was fitted with three masts and ship rigged like the 80-gun sailing ships of the line in service.[1]
The muzzle-loading, smoothbore armament of Breslaw consisted of sixteen 36-pounder long guns and fourteen 22 cm (8.7 in) Paixhans guns on the lower gun deck. On the upper gundeck were twenty-four 30-pound short guns. On the quarterdeck and forecastle were a total of two 16 cm (6.3 in) rifled guns, a dozen 30-pounder short guns, and six 30-pounder carronades.[1]