The Algésiras was a 3rd rank, 90-gun built for the French Navy during the first decade of the 19th century. Completed in 1824, she played a minor role in the French Invasion of Algiers in 1830.
Description Designed by Jacques-Noël Sané, the Bucentaure-class ships had a length of , a beam of and a depth of hold of . The ships displaced 3,868 tonneaux and had a mean draught of . They had a tonnage of 2,034 port tonneaux. Their crew numbered 866 officers and ratings during wartime. They were fitted with three masts and ship rigged.Winfield & Roberts, p. 57
The muzzle-loading, smoothbore armament of the Bucentaure class consisted of thirty 36-pounder long guns on the lower gun deck and thirty-two 24-pounder long guns on the upper gun deck. The armament on the quarterdeck and forecastle varied as the ships' authorised armament was changed over the years that the Bucentares were built. Algésiras was fitted with fourteen 12-pounder long guns and fourteen 36-pounder carronades.
Construction and career Algésiras was ordered on 20 February 1812 and laid down on 1 April at the Arsenal de Lorient. The ship was launched on 21 August 1823 and completed in April 1824. She was commissioned on 20 August 1828.Winfield & Roberts, p. 58 Algésiras participated in the Invasion of Algiers in 1830, under Captain Ponée, and in the Battle of the Tagus the next year, under Captain Moulac. In 1832, she was used as a troopship to ferry troops to Algeria. In 1836, the ship cruised the Caribbean with the frigate Artémise.Roche, p. 19 Algésiras was struck in 1846 and used as a prison hulk.
The ship was mentioned in Les Misérables, where she is mislabeled as a frigate:
Citations
References
Winfield, Rif and Roberts, Stephen S. (2015) French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786-1861: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing.