French ship Austerlitz (1852)


The Austerlitz was a late 100-gun Hercule-class ship of the line of the French Navy.

Service history

Laid down as Ajax, she was renamed Austerlitz on 28 November 1839, still on keel.
In 1850, her rigging was changed for that of a 90-gun, and a steam engine was installed.
On 19 September 1854, she ran aground in the Ledsund, in the Åland Islands, Grand Duchy of Finland. She was refloated after throwing sixteen of her cannon overboard. She took part in operations in the Black Sea in 1854. On 16 April 1855, Austerlitz ran aground at South Foreland, Kent, United Kingdom in foggy weather. She was refloated the next day.
From 1871, she was used as a prison hulk of prisoners of the Paris Commune. Between 1874 and 1894, she was used as a school ship. She was eventually broken up in 1895.