Name Pacificateur Ordered July 1807 In service 22 May 1811 Construction started 1808 Builder Antwerp | Namesake Pacifier Laid down 1808 Struck 1824 Launched 1811 | |
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The Pacificateur was a Bucentaure-class 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, designed by Sané. She is notable for being the first ship to sustain damage from Paixhans shells.
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History
Commissioned in Anvers in 1814, Pacificateur remained anchored at the entrance of the harbour to protect it until the Bourbon Restoration. In September 1814, she arrived in Brest, where she stayed until she was condemned, in 1824.
For her disposal, it was decided to use Pacificateur as a target ship to test new 22 cm canon-obusiers invented by Henri-Joseph Paixhans. The wooden sides of Pacificateur sustained devastating damages from the explosive shell, starting the decline of wooden warships and rise of the ironclads.
References
References
French ship Pacificateur (1811) Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA