French ship Orient (1791)
Orient was an Océan-class 118-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, famous for her role as flagship of the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile in August 1798, and for her spectacular destruction that day when her magazine exploded. The event was commemorated by numerous poems and paintings.
Battle of the Nile, August 1st 1798 at 10 pm, by Thomas Luny. Orient is depicted aflame at the centre left.
The destruction of L'Orient at the Battle of the Nile, 1 August 1798, painting by George Arnald, on display at the National Maritime Museum.
The Battle of the Nile, August 1st 1798, painting by Thomas Whitcombe
The Battle of the Nile, engraving by Thomas Whitcombe
Océan-class ship of the line
The Océan-class ships of the line were a series of 118-gun three-decker ships of the line of the French Navy, designed by engineer Jacques-Noël Sané. Fifteen were completed from 1788 on, with the last one entering service in 1854; a sixteenth was never completed, and four more were never laid down.
1⁄48 scale model of the Océan-class 120-gun ship of the line Commerce de Marseille, on display at Marseille naval museum; and Half-hull of a 120-gun ship of the line on display at Brest naval museum.
Scale model of an Océan-class ship, including the inner disposition of the lower decks, on display at the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne.
Aft panel of Souverain, on display at Toulon naval museum.
Montebello, circa 1850
