French brig Mercure
Marker: recorded wreck position (Date not recorded).
Key facts
| Name | French brig Mercure | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Ship type | ship, shipwreck | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Cause of loss | Fire or explosion | Keyword match in English Wikipedia lead sentence |
| Nationality / flag | Italy | Wikidata P8047 country of registry |
| Sea / ocean | Adriatic Sea | Natural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon |
| Nearest coast | Italy | Natural Earth (public domain); approx. 16 km from land |
| Position | 45.5617, 13.2053 | Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0) |
About the wreck
Mercure was a 16-gun brig of the French Navy.
In November 1806, she was commissioned in Genoa under Gen. Lacombe-Saint-Michel. In 1808, she was at Corfu, and in 1810 in Venice. On 14 June 1810, she was transferred to the navy of the Kingdom of Italy, along with Cyclope and Écureuil, in exchange for the frigate Favorite.
On 22 February 1812, as she escorted the newly commissioned 74-gun Rivoli with the brigs Mamelouk and Iéna, the squadron encountered a British force. In the ensuing Battle of Pirano, Mercure battled against HMS Weazel for 45 minutes until her magazines suddenly exploded, instantly sinking her and killing all aboard except for three men, who were rescued by Weazel.
Location
- Recorded position: 45.5617, 13.2053 (Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0); may be approximate)
- Sea / ocean: Adriatic Sea
- Nearest coast: Italy
Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article French brig Mercure (1806) (revision 1379697412), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; condensed by selecting paragraphs and trimming at sentence boundaries; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
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