Overview
Héros was a 74-gun built for the French Navy during the 1790s. Completed in 1801, she played a minor role in the Napoleonic Wars.
Description
Designed by Jacques-Noël Sané, the Téméraire-class ships had a length of , a beam of and a depth of hold of . The ships displaced 3,069 tonneaux and had a mean draught of . 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. 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 (). Some ships had instead twenty 8-pounders.
Construction and career
Héros was laid down at the Arsenal de Rochefort on 15 January 1795 and named on 24 March. The ship was launched on 10 May 1801, commissioned on 8 September and completed in October. She took part in the French occupation of Santo Domingo, notably ferrying Toussaint Louverture to France after his arrest. She took part in the Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) under Commander Poulain, and was one of the five French ships to survive the battle, although Poulain was killed and replaced by Lieutenant Conor. She subsequently returned to Cádiz. Héros stayed in Cádiz until she was captured by the Spanish in 1808. Renamed Heroe, she was broken up at Ferrol in 1839.
References
* * * * * * * *Winfield, Rif & Roberts, Stephen S. (2015) French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786-1861: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing.