French ship Pluton (1805)
Taking of the rock Le Diamant, near Martinique, 2 June 1805, by Auguste Étienne François Mayer. Pluton is depicted in the centre-right. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| France | |
| Name | Pluton |
| Namesake | Pluto |
| Ordered | June 1803 |
| Builder | Toulon |
| Laid down | August 1803 |
| Launched | 17 January 1805 |
| Completed | March 1805 |
| Captured | By Spain at Cádiz, 14 June 1808 |
| Spain | |
| Name | Plutón |
| Namesake | Pluto |
| Acquired | 14 June 1808 |
| Renamed | Montañés |
| Fate | Hulked, 1816 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | petit Téméraire-class ship of the line |
| Displacement | 2,781 tonneaux |
| Tons burthen | 1,381 port tonneaux |
| Length | 53.97 m (177 ft 1 in) |
| Beam | 14.29 m (46 ft 11 in) |
| Draught | 6.72 m (22.0 ft) |
| Depth of hold | 6.9 m (22 ft 8 in) |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Crew | 705 |
| Armament |
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Pluton was a 74-gun petite Téméraire-class ship of the line built for the French Navy during the first decade of the 19th century. Completed in 1805, she played a minor role in the Napoleonic Wars. The ship served in the Trafalgar campaign that same year during which she was a part of the fleet led by Vice-Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve that broke out of Toulon, passed through the Strait of Gibraltar and reached the West Indies. There Pluton led the French forces during the Battle of Diamond Rock, returned to Europe with the fleet and participated in the inconclusive Battle of Cape Finisterre in July and the subsequent Battle of Trafalgar in October.