Evidence shows two blasts sank Napoleon's flagship

The Associated Press

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt -- On a devastating night for the French, Britain's Lord Nelson sailed into Abu Kir Bay and, by crushing Napoleon's fleet, changed the course of history.

Two centuries later, French marine archaeologist Franck Goddio also is changing history -- rewriting the story of the famous battle using science and an old-fashioned nose for adventure. For years, historians told the tale of Napoleon's defeat by saying one explosion sank his French flagship Aug. 1, 1798. But while recovering the ship's remains, Goddio's team found evidence that the flagship, L'Orient, actually was destroyed by two nearly simultaneous explosions. "They were amazing explosions," Goddio said Sunday. "Usually we find the bow or the stern, but here all the bow and all the stern were gone and hundreds were trapped in the structure of the ship." Joining Goddio to announce the discoveries in the port city of Alexandria, 15 miles from the battle site, were Anna Tribe and Louis- Napoleon Bonaparte-Wyse, descendants of the commanders. The last meeting among members of the two families led to the deaths of more than 1,200 sailors; this time, smiles, handshakes and wit were the weapons of choice. "You don't want us to fight now, do you?" Tribe, Nelson's great, great, great granddaughter, asked a photographer trying to set up a picture of the two near the churning waters of Abu Kir. At 6 p.m. on the night of what came to be known as the Battle of the Nile, there was little to joke about. Napoleon had his sights set on crushing the British Empire by striking at Egypt and, ultimately, India. But a British cannon set L'Orient, under the leadership of Vice-Admiral Bruey, on fire. Goddio said historians had thought the ship sank immediately, but that the placement of seven anchors on the seabed and the location of the artifacts indicates another explosion followed. The first blast set the stern on fire, he said. But the ensuing shock wave ignited powder near the middle of the ship and led to a nearly simultaneous explosion on the port side, he said. The first blast propelled the ship forward 90 to 120 feet; he said the second stopped it in its tracks -- hurling a 3-ton cannon 540 feet and the 15-ton rudder 120 feet from the ship. The anchors surrounding L'Orient, which belonged to other ships in the 13-strong French fleet, indicate that captains cut their lines to distance themselves from it. All 1,000 sailors and officers aboard died. The ship rests 33 feet under water. Goddio's salvage operation, begun in 1996, is funded by the Hilti Foundation of Germany and sponsored by the Discovery Channel. He also has examined the wreckage of two other ships in the French fleet, La Seriuse and La Artemise. Among other items, the team has found gold coins bearing likenesses of kings Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI, small arms, a printing press and intact crystal flasks. The position of the ships and the artifacts also shed light on mistakes Napoleon and his officers made, according to naval historian Colin White. "They were too far away from any protective artillery," said White, deputy director of the Royal Naval Museum. "Why did they position themselves in this way is one of the questions that we historians have to ... work out."

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