Leon Trionfante-class ship of the line
The Leon Trionfante-class were a class of at least fourteen 70-gun third rate ships of the line[N 2] built by the Venetian Arsenale from 1716 to 1785, in four different series with minor changes in the ships' length. In 1797, when Venice fell to the French, Napoleon captured several ships of the class, still unfinished in the Arsenal: he chose one of them, forced the shipbuilders to have it completed and added it to his fleet en route for Egypt. After Campoformio, the remaining vessels were destroyed by the French to avoid their capture by the Austrian Empire.[2]
 Reconstruction of a building plan of the Leon Trionfante, modern image based on 18th century images.[1] | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Leon Trionfante ("Triumphant Lion") |
| Builders | Arsenal of Venice |
| Operators | |
| Preceded by | Corona-class |
| Succeeded by | San Carlo Borromeo-class |
| In service | 1716 - 1797 |
| Completed | 15 |
| Lost | 4 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Ship of the line |
| Length | 43,11 m (124 Venetian feet) |
| Draft | 6,43 m (18,5 Ven. ft) |
| Depth | 12,85 m (37 Ven. ft) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Armament |
|
Design and history
Almost all the ships of this class were planned and started before 1739, completed to a 70%, then stored in the roofed shipbuilding docks of the Arsenale to be finished and launched when the Venetian Navy need them, a solution the British Royal Navy adopted only in 1810, when the docks at Chatham were covered.
This decision, mostly due to the chronic lack of funds of the Republic of Venice in its final years, led to retain in service older and inferior ships than the ones built at the same time for the British Royal Navy and the French Royal Navy. Moreover, contemporary third rates had heavier guns (32-pounders on the gun deck and 18-pounders on the upper gun deck), even if the armament of those ships could be brought up to 72-74 guns. Except for the Leon Trionfante and the Diligenza, none of this class' ships remained in service for more than fifteen years.
Ships
| Name | Designer | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Fate | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leon Trionfante | Unknown | Francesco De Ponti | 1714[3] | 16 May 1716 | 1716 | Unknown | Dismantled, 1740 | [4] |
| San Giacomo | Unknown | Unknown | 1719[3] | 29 April 1765 | Unknown | Unknown | Dismantled, 1776 | [5] |
- Buon Consiglio
- Ordered: 1719
- Launched: 1761
- Fate: Broken up, 1776
- Fedeltà
- Ordered: 1719
- Launched: 1769
- Fate: Broken up, 1783
- Forza
- Ordered: 1719
- Launched: 1774
- Fate: Wrecked, 1784
- Corriera Veneta
- Ordered: 1722
- Launched: 1770
- Fate: Wrecked, 1771
- Diligenza
- Ordered: 1724
- Launched: 1774
- Fate: Broken up, 1797
- Fenice
- Ordered: 1723
- Launched: 1779
- Fate: Sunk, 1786
- Galatea
- Ordered: 1722
- Launched: 1779
- Fate: Broken up, 1793
- Vittoria
- Ordered: 1732
- Launched: 1784
- Fate: Broken up, 1797
- La Guerriera
- Ordered: 1732
- Launched: 1785
- Fate: Burnt, 1785
- Medea
- Ordered: 1732
- Launched: 1793
- Fate: Captured, 1797
- Eolo
- Ordered: 1739
- Launched: 1782
- Fate: Captured, 1797
- San Giorgio
- Ordered: 1736
- Launched: 1785
- Fate: Captured, 1797
See also
References
Notes
- The guns reported as the main armament of this class' ships are in the Venetian scale, that use the libbra sottile (0,301 kg).
- Even if by contemporary British practice these 70-gun ships should be rated as third rates, for the Venetian Navy the Leon Trionfante-class were first rate vessels. This different classification dated back to the previous century, but Venice never changed it for prestige issues.
Citations
- Ercole (2011), p. 107
- Levi 1896, p. 41.
- "Ships 1667-1797". felipe.mbnet.fi. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
- Venetian Third Rate ship of the line 'Leon Trionfante'.
- Venetian Third Rate ship of the line 'San Giacomo'.
Websites
- Harrison, Simon. "Venetian Leon Trionfante Class". threedecks.org. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
- Harrison, Simon. "Venetian Third Rate ship of the line 'Leon Trionfante' (1716)". threedecks.org. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
- Harrison, Simon. "Venetian Third Rate ship of the line 'San Giacomo' (1761)". threedecks.org. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
Books
- Ercole, Guido (2011). Vascelli e fregate della Serenissima. Trento: GMT. ISBN 978-8890565144.
- Levi, Cesare Augusto (1896). Navi da guerra costruite nell'Arsenale di Venezia dal 1664 al 1896. Venice: Stabilimento Tipografico Fratelli Visentini.