''Corse'', initially named ''Napoléon'' before its second commission, was a sail and steam experimental

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

, initially commissioned as a mail steamer. Largely overperforming her specifications and an excellent sailor, she was purchased by the Navy and commissioned to serve as an

aviso An ''aviso'' was originally a kind of dispatch boat or "advice boat", carrying orders before the development of effective remote communication. The term, derived from the Portuguese and Spanish word for "advice", "notice" or "warning", an ...

, becoming the first propeller ship in service in the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

. She took part in the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

and ferried Prince Napoléon to Iceland in 1856. She was eventually broken up in 1902.

Career

''Napoléon'' was designed as a

mail steamer Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed mainly for domestic mail and freight transport in European countries and in North American rivers and canals. Eventually including basic passenger accommodation, they were used extensively during t ...

, one of the first in France to use propellers. She was a joint venture by engineer

Frédéric Sauvage Frédéric Sauvage (20 September 1786 – 17 July 1857) was a French boat builder who carried out early tests of screw-type marine propellers. Sauvage was born at Boulogne-sur-Mer. In a public demonstration with a small boat on 15 January 18 ...

, one of the inventors of the

screw propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...

, and shipbuilder Augustin Normand, who provided the shipbuilding facilities and insisted for a propeller with several blades. As the Navy was initially uninterested in a steam and sail propeller ship, Normand protested to the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

, who agreed to commission ''Napoléon'' as a mail steamer under the condition that she would reach a speed of ; during her trials, ''Napoléon'' maintained an average speed or and reached , largely exceeding ministerial specifications. ''Napoléon'' was used as a postal shuttle between

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

and

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French language, French: ; or ; , locally: ; ) is the capital and largest city of Corsica, France. It forms a communes of France, French commune, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Corse-du-Sud, and head o ...

between 1842 and 1850. In November 1850, she was purchased by the Navy, renamed ''Corse'' on 28 December, and commissioned as an

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

in January 1851, becoming the first screw-propelled unit commissioned in the French Navy. She departed Toulon on 30 January 1850 for her new station in Brest, which she reached on 17 February. She served in the

Littoral The littoral zone, also called litoral or nearshore, is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely i ...

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

naval division, towing ''Basilic'' from

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

on 26 April 1852, and ''Serpent'' two days later. In 1854, ''Corse'' took part in the

as a troopship. Two years later, she ferried Prince Napoléon to Iceland. In 1863, ''Corse'' was transferred from the channel to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

and affected to the training squadron. In 1873 she was transferred to the

Bosporus The Bosporus or Bosphorus Strait ( ; , colloquially ) is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul, Turkey. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and forms one of the continental bo ...

naval station, and from 1879 was part of the Mediterranean squadron. ''Corse'' was struck on 31 December 1890 and used as a coal store hulk, before being broken up in 1902.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Corse Avisos of the French Navy Ships built in France 1842 ships Crimean War naval ships of France