French aviso Bouvet (1865)

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Bouvet.

Bouvet in 1876
History
France
Name	Bouvet
Namesake	François Joseph Bouvet.
Builder	Rochefort
Laid down	2 October 1863
Launched	24 May 1865
Fate	Wrecked on 17 September 1871 off Île-à-Vache
General characteristics
Class and type	Bouvet class aviso
Displacement	760 tonnes
Length	55.75 m (182.9 ft)
Beam	8.5 m (28 ft)
Propulsion	700 shp (520 kW)
Complement	85
Armament	1 × 16cm gun 2 × 12cm gun

Bouvet was a sail and steam aviso of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. She is remembered as the opponent of the German gunboat SMS Meteor during the Battle of Havana in 1870, at the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War.

Career

Commissioned on 18 June 1866, Bouvet served in Mexico, in the Caribbean and off Terre-Neuve.

At the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, she was sent to the Caribbean, where she intervened to rescue the liner SS Nouveau Monde. Under Commander Franquet, she fought against SMS Meteor during the Battle of Havana, managing to ram her opponent and knocking out two of her masts, but suffering herself a shot in a steam pipe which forced her to return into Cuban waters and avoid capture.

Bouvet was wrecked on 17 September 1871 off Île-à-Vache, when a gust of wind sent her onto a reef. The crew managed to safely abandon ship.

References

• Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. Vol. 1. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. p. 82. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.