French ship Ça Ira (1781)
Model of Couronne, on display at the Château de Brest.
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History | |
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France | |
Name | Ça-Ira |
Builder | Arsenal of Brest |
Laid down | May 1781 |
Launched | August 1781 |
Christened | 1781 as La Couronne |
Renamed | Renamed Ça-Ira in 1792 |
Captured | Captured by the Royal Navy on 14 March 1795 |
Fate | Burnt 1796 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Saint-Esprit class ship of the line |
Displacement | 1754 tonnes |
Length | 59.8 m (196 ft) |
Beam | 14.9 m (49 ft) |
Draught | 7.5 m (25 ft) |
Complement | 970 |
Armament |
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The Couronne was an 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.
Career
Couronne was built at
French Revolution
In 1792 she was renamed Ça Ira, in reference to the revolutionary anthem
On 14 March 1795, she took part in the
During the night, Vestale was relieved by the 74-gun
Late career
Ça Ira was commissioned in the Royal Navy, but in too battered a state to serve, she was used as a hospital hulk in Saint-Florent.
Ça Ira was destroyed on 11 April 1796 in an accidental fire; boats from other ships attempted to aid, but as the fire became out of control, Ça Ira was evacuated and brought away from the anchorage. She drifted and ran aground half a mile to the northward of the citadel and burnt to the water line. An inquiry subsequently concluded that the fire had been accidentally put on by a "bottle of combustible matter improperly kept in the carpenters cabin", and acquitted the officers from blame.[4]
Archaeological discovery
In 1988, a 19th-century map was discovered, allowing the discovery of the wreck the following year, and its subsequent excavation. From 1990 to 1995, underwater archaeological survey was undertaken by Tech Sub, a non-profit organisation.
Citations
- ^ la fin du Ca-Ira, par Pierre Villié, directeur de fouille
- ^ The Naval History of Great Britain, by William James, Frederick Chamier
- ^ Histoire Militaire: Histoire des armées françaises de terre et de mer de 1792 à 1837. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
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ignored (help) - ^ le Ca-Ira dans les archives anglaises
References
- Winfield, Rif; Roberts, Stephen S. (2015). French warships in the age of sail, 1786-1861. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-184832-204-2.
External links
- (in French) Historie du Ca-ira
- Ca-Ira, vaisseau français de 80 canons 1781-1796 by pierre Villié and martine Acerra Book review in INA Quarterly (Institut of Nautical Archaeology)
- (in French) La bataille du cap Noli