French frigate Descartes

File:Lebreton engraving-26.jpg
History
France
Name	Descartes
Namesake	René Descartes
Laid down	11 February 1840
Launched	5 March 1844
Christened	Gomer
Decommissioned	15 August 1867
Renamed	Descartes in 1841
Fate	Broken up in 1867.
General characteristics
Displacement	1,800 tonnes
Length	70.46 m (231 ft 2 in)
Beam	13.40 m (44 ft 0 in)
Draught	6.60 m (21 ft 8 in)
Propulsion	1785 m² of sail 540 shp steam engine
Armament	20 guns
Armour	Timber

Descartes was a wooden-hulled paddle frigate of the French Navy. Laid down as Gomer, she was renamed Descartes in 1841 while still on the stocks.

Characteristics

The 540 hp engines of Descartes were made by Fijenoord.

Service

File:Crimean War; a blazing battle in and around the harbour at S Wellcome V0015789.jpg

Descartes at Sebastopol, during the first day's attack by the allied fleet and armies of France and England on 17 October 1854

She took part in the Crimean War, and was used to ferry wounded from Italy. On 17 October 1855, she took part in the Battle of Kinburn. She was eventually broken up in Brest in July 1867.

External links

• Nos Photographies rares Archived 2007-10-21 at the Wayback Machine
• Plans of the Descartes