List of ships of the line of France


This is a list of French battlefleet warships of the period 1621–1870.

Battlefleet units in the French Navy were categorised as vaisseaux as distinguished from lesser warships such as frigates. The vaisseaux were classified according to size and/or firepower into a series of Rangs, roughly equivalent to the system of Rates used by the British Navy, although these did not correspond exactly. By 1671 there was a system of five Rangs, which officially pertained for over a century; the first three of these Rangs comprised the battlefleet vaisseaux, while the Fourth and Fifth Rangs comprised the larger frigates. In practice by the early decades of the 18th century the formal ranking system among the vaisseaux had in practice been overtaken by a division based on the number of carriage guns borne in practice by individual ships.
The article is divided into sections according to the Head of State at the time, which names are provided as chronological references.
Note that throughout this article the term "-pounder" refers to French pre-metric units of weight, which were almost 8% greater than UK/US units of the same name; every other maritime power likewise established its own system of weights and each country's 'pound' was different from that of every other nation. Similarly French pre-metric units of length were 6.575% longer than equivalent UK/US units of measurement; the pre-metric French foot was equivalent to 324.8394 mm, whereas the UK/US foot equalled 304.8 mm. These differences should be taken into account in any calculations based on the units given below.

Valois-Angoulême dynasty (1515 to 1589)

François I was the first of the five French Kings of the Valois-Angoulême dynasty, who reigned from 1515 to 1589:
François I
Henri II - second son of François I
François II - eldest son of Henri II
Charles IX - third son of Henri II
Henri III - fourth son of Henri II
The application of the Salic Law meant that with the extinction of the Valois in the male line, the Bourbons succeeded to the throne as descendants of Louis IX.
Very few of the names of French ships of this era are known.
The first seven years of this reign were under the Regency of Marie de Médicis, the consort of Henri IV – Louis XIII's father, who had been assassinated in 1610. Following the Siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré and the Siege of La Rochelle, and in line with his general efforts to enhance the prestige and status of France in Europe, the Cardinal de Richelieu had a number of warships purchased from Holland, and eventually built in France by Holland-instructed French engineers. The largest of these early ships of the line, such as the famous 72-gun Couronne launched in 1638, would mount a number of guns comparable to later units of the 18th and 19th century, but the brunt of these ships would mount between 20 and 40 guns. The artillery was also comparatively lighter: the Couronne mounted 18-pounder long guns on her main battery, where any of the numerous 74-gun ships of the line that formed the backbone of the Navy from the late 18th century would mount 36-pounder long guns and 18-pounders would become common on frigates.

Ships of the Line ("vaisseaux")

When Richelieu decided to renew the French Royal Navy in 1625, he began by ordering a number of warships to be built in Holland, as the French shipbuilding industry was not at that date capable of constructing them in sufficient quentity. However, in the interim, before these new ships could be built, he arranged to fill the gap by leasing or hiring a number of Dutch and English ships. In June 1625 he procured twenty Dutch warships, of which one was lost in action on 16 July and another on 17 September; the remaining eighteen ships were returned to the Dutch on 10 March 1626. In July 1625 he also hired the English Second rate warship Vanguard, and in August added six ships hired from the English East India Company; all these were returned to their owners on 26 May 1626. As these were never at any date owned by the French, they are excluded from the list below.
Note only prizes put into service with the Marine Royale are included here.
The first eight years of this reign were under the Regency of Anne of Austria, the consort of Louis XIII, while French politics were dominated by Cardinal Jules Mazarin, who served as Chief Minister from 1642, and Louis XIV did not achieve personal rule until the death of Cardinal Mazarin in March 1661.
The French rating system was historically a division into three Ranks, but a new system of four Ranks was provisionally created in 1669; however a new system quickly replaced this in 1671. Earlier vessels are shown under the rating they were given in 1671 – in the case of vessels deleted prior to 1671, these are included according to the rate they would have been given in 1671 had they not been deleted. Under this new system, French major warships were from 1671 divided into five ranks or "Rangs"; ships of the line were divided into the highest three ranks.
The original rating system was thoroughly reformed under Colbert's administration two years later, on 24 June 1671, and the overwhelming majority of French warships underwent name changes at that date; vessels are listed below under their original name at time of launching or acquisition, even if they subsequently were better known by the name they were given later.
Vessels of the Fourth and Fifth Ranks were categorised as frigates of the 1st Order and 2nd Order respectively; light frigates and even smaller vessels were excluded from the rating system.

First Rank Ships ("vaisseaux de Premier Rang")

From 1670, the First Rank could be categorised as ships of the line carrying more than 70 carriage guns ; in 1690 this was limit was effectively risen to ships carrying 80 or more guns.

''Vaisseaux de Premier Rang Extraordinaire''

The largest and most heavily armed First Rank ships, effectively those carrying 100 carriage guns or more, were placed in a sub-category of Vaisseaux de Premier Rang Extraordinaire. Only a few of these were built, but they always provided the flagships of the two Fleets - the Flotte du Levant and the Flotte du Ponant. They were all full three-deckers, i.e. with three full-length gun decks, with the uppermost of these surmounted by an armed forecastle, quarterdeck and poop.
While the smaller First Rank ships also had three full-length gun decks, the uppermost of these before 1690 generally carried carriage guns only on the forward section and on the after section of that deck, with a section between them in the waist of the ship where no guns were mounted. These ships had no forecastle or poop, so that the two sections of the upper gun deck served the function of forecastle and quarterdeck, while the nominal quarterdeck was short and served in effect the function of a poop.
All First Rank ships built from 1689 had three full-length gun decks, usually plus a number of smaller carriage guns mounted on the gaillards. Some of the earlier ships built before 1689 received extra guns and gunports fitted in the waist section of their upper deck around 1689, to bring them up to 80 guns or more.
Before 1670, the Second Rank consisted of ships of the line carrying from 50 up to 64 carriage guns ; from 1671 this comprised ships of between 62 and 68 guns; in 1683 this was comprised ships carrying from 64 to 76 guns, and by 1710 even 64-gun ships had been reduced to the Third Rate. Most Second Rank ships were two-decked vessels, i.e. carrying two complete gundecks, usually plus a few smaller carriage guns mounted on the gaillards; however, the Second Rank initially also included numerous ships nominally described as three-deckers launched up until 1682, after which all three-deckers were First Rates; these three-deckers are listed below before the two-deckers.
Nominal three decked ships:
Two decked ships:
From 1670, the Third Rank was defined as ships of the line carrying from 40 up to 50 carriage guns; in 1671 this was redefined as ships carrying from 48 to 60 guns. Initially during the first part of Louis XIV's reign these were designed and constructed as three-decked ships without forecastles and with minimal quarterdecks, although their upper decks were divided at the waist by an unarmed section of deck; but from about 1670 it was ruled that ships with fewer than 70 guns should not be built with three decks, so all subsequent Third Rank ships were two-decked vessels, i.e. carrying two complete gundecks, usually plus a few smaller carriage guns mounted on the gaillards. During the first decade of the 18th century, the remaining Second Rank ships with 64 or fewer guns were down-graded to Third Rank.
From 1670, the French Quatrième Rang consisted of vessels with two complete batteries armed with from 30 to 40 guns. From 1671, this was redefined as vessels armed with from 36 to 46 guns, and those vessels with fewer than 36 guns were re-classed as Fifth Rank ships; in 1683 this was revised again to include only two-decked ships with from 40 to 46 guns. These ships were also described as frigates of the 1st Order.
As Louis XV was only 5½ years old when he succeeded to the French throne, the first eight years of this reign were under the Regency of Philippe of Orléans, Duke of Chartres, the nephew of Louis XIV.
While the five Rangs theoretically remained in existence, the construction by 1715 had crystallised around a number of distinct types, based on the number of carriage guns which they each carried.

First Rank ships ("vaisseaux de Premier Rang") in the Louis XV era

Three-decker type

Only four three-decker ships were completed during this reign of nearly sixty years; a fifth was destroyed before completion.
Large two-deckers, with a weight of broadside equal to the three-deckers of Louis XIV's period, served usually as fleet flagships.
These formed overwhelmingly the core of the French battlefleet throughout the 18th century. Initially these carried just 26 guns - all 36-pounders - in their first battery and 28 guns in their second battery, with 16 guns on the gaillards - the total of 74 guns being achieved by having 4 small guns on the 'dunette' ; this applied to twelve of the first thirteen vessels listed below. The exception in this group was the 70-gun Aimable, which - while having the same number of ports - had only 24-pounders in its first battery. The 4-pounders were removed from the poop of all active units of this type by about 1750, reducing each to a 70-gun ship.
From the Terrible onwards, the lengthened hulls of new ships meant that they could mount an extra pair of guns on the lower deck and another extra pair on the upper deck; the 4 small guns on the dunette were henceforth abolished. The consequent armament of 28 guns in their lower deck battery and 30 guns in their upper deck battery, with 16 guns on the gaillards, thus became the standard for the next 75 years.
Note that the Destin and Fendant are included here as they were begun under Louis XV's reign, although neither was launched until after 1774.

64-gun ships ("vaisseaux de 64") of the Louis XV era

The 60 or 62 gun ship built from 1717 onwards continued the practice of similarly-armed vessels built in the first decade of the century. They were two-deckers with a "first tier" battery of twenty-four 24-pounder guns and a "second tier" battery of twenty-six 12-pounder guns, supplemented by between ten and fourteen 6-pounder guns mounted on the gaillards.
The Borée, longer than previous 64s, had managed to fit in a thirteenth pair of 24-pounder guns on the lower deck. Subsequent 64s managed to fit in a fourteenth pair of 12-pounder guns on the upper deck as well, with the number of 6-pounder guns on the quarterdeck reduced to six.
Three French East India Company ships were purchased by the Navy in April 1770; all designed and built by Antoine Groignard and Gilles Cambry.
Four further ships were begun before 1774, but were launched in Louis XIV's reign

First Rates ("vaisseaux de Premier Rang") of the Louis XVI era

110-gun three-decker group of 1780. Three different constructeurs designed these ships; the first two were by François-Guillaume Clairain-Deslauriers and Léon-Michel Guignace respectively, while the Toulon pair were by Joseph-Marie-Blaise Coulomb. Typically each carried 30 x 36pdr guns on the lower deck, 32 x 24pdr guns on the middle deck, 32 x 12pdr guns on the upper deck, and 16 x 8pdr guns on the gaillards, although this armament varied from time to time.
Océan class – Three-deckers of 118 guns, designed by Jacques-Noël Sané. Each carried 32 x 36pdr guns on the lower deck, 34 x 24pdr guns on the middle deck, 34 x 12pdr guns on the upper deck, and 18 x 8pdr guns on the gaillards.
Tonnant class – Following his standard design for 74-gun ships, Jacques-Noël Sané then produced a standard design for an 80-gun ship, to which 8 ships were eventually built.
Two ships which were begun before 1774 were completed later; see Fendant and Destin under 1715–1774 section above.
  • Neptune 74-gun ship designed by Pierre-Augustin Lamothe – Wrecked in a storm 1794
Scipion class – Designed by Francois-Guillaume Clairin-Deslauriers
  • Scipion 74 – wrecked off San Domingo in October 1782
  • Hercule 74 – Razéed to 50-gun frigate in June 1794
  • Pluton 74 – BU 1805
Annibal class – Designed by Jacques-Noël Sané
  • Annibal 74 – Renamed Achille 1786, captured by the British in the Glorious First of June 1794 and added to the RN under the same name, BU 1796
  • Northumberland 74 – Captured by the British in the Glorious First of June 1794 and added to the RN under the same name, BU 1795
  • Héros 74 – designed by Joseph-Marie-Blaise Coulomb – captured by the British at Toulon in August 1793 and burnt by them there in December 1793
Magnanime class – Designed by Jean-Denis Chevillard
  • Magnanime 74 – deleted 1792 and broken up 1793
  • Illustre 74 – cut down to 52-gun ship 1794 and renamed Scévola, wrecked in a storm in December 1796
  • Sceptre 74 – designed by Pierre-Augustin Lamothe – BU 1811
Argonaute class – Designed by François-Guillaume Clairin-Deslauriers.
  • Argonaute 74 – cut down to a 42-gun ship 1794 and renamed Flibustier, out of service 1795
  • Brave 74 – hulked in 1798, not mentioned after 1803
Pégase class – Designed by Antoine Groignard.
  • Pégase 74 – Captured by the British in the Bay of Biscay in April 1782 and added to the RN under the same name, BU 1815
  • Dictateur 74 – Renamed Liberté in September 1792, captured by the British at Toulon in August 1793 and burnt by them there in December 1793, repaired by the French but BU 1807
  • Suffisant 74 – Captured by the British at Toulon in August 1793 and burnt by them there in December 1793
  • Puissant 74 – Captured by the British at Toulon in August 1793 and added to the RN under the same name, sold in 1816
  • Alcide 74 – Captured by the British at Toulon in August 1793, retaken there by the French in December 1793, blown up by the British in the Battle of Hyeres in July 1795
  • Censeur 74 – Captured by the British at Toulon in August 1793, retaken there by the French in December 1793, captured by the British in the Battle of Cape Noli in March 1795, retaken by the French in October 1795, and transferred to Spain in June 1799, BU 1799
Centaure class – Designed by Joseph-Marie-Blaise Coulomb, all built at Toulon.
  • Centaure 74 – Captured by the British at Toulon in August 1793, retaken there by the French in December 1793
  • Heureux 74 – Captured by the British at Toulon in August 1793, retaken there by the French in December 1793, burnt by the British in the Battle of the Nile in August 1798
  • Séduisant 74 – Renamed Pelletier in September 1793, then Séduisant again in May 1795, wrecked in December 1796
  • Mercure 74 – Captured by the British at Toulon in August 1793, retaken there by the French in December 1793, burnt by the British in the Battle of the Nile in August 1798
Téméraire class' – numerically the largest class of battleships ever built to a single design. Designed by Jacques-Noël Sané, 97 vessels, each of 74 guns, were laid down between 1782 and 1813.
The first 31 of these, launched before the execution of Louis XVI:-
The Republic was proclaimed on 21 September 1792. The period was divided into the Convention, the Directory until 9 November 1799, and finally the Consulate until the proclamation of the Empire on 18 May 1804.

First Rates ("vaisseaux de Premier Rang") of the First Republic

Dauphin Royal class
Tonnant class
Téméraire class
  • Tigre 74 – captured by the British in the Battle of Groix in June 1795 and added to the RN under the same name, BU 1817.
  • Tyrannicide 74 – renamed Desaix in August 1800, wrecked 15 February 1802.
  • Nestor 74 – renamed Cisalpin in December 1797, then Aquilon February 1803, captured and burnt by the British in the Battle of the Basque Roads in April 1809.
  • Jemappes 74 – condemned 1820 and hulked at Rochefort, taken to pieces in 1830.
  • Barra 74 – renamed Pégase in October 1795, then Hoche in December 1797, captured by the British in the Battle of Tory Island in October 1798 and added to the RN as HMS Donegal, BU 1845.
  • Marat 74 – renamed Formidable in May 1795, captured by the British in the Battle of Groix in June 1795 and added to the RN as HMS Belleisle, BU 1814.
  • Droits de l'Homme 74 – driven ashore and wrecked by the British in an action off Brittany in January 1797.
  • Wattignies 74 – condemned at Brest 1808 and BU there 1809.
  • Cassard 74 – renamed Dix-Août in March 1798, then Brave in February 1803, captured by the British in the Battle of San Domingo in February 1806, wrecked 1806.
  • Jean-Jacques Rousseau 74 – renamed Marengo in December 1802, captured by the British in an action in the Atlantic in March 1806 and added to the RN under the same name, BU 1816.
  • Viala 74 – Renamed Voltaire in October 1795, then Constitution in December 1795 and finally Jupiter in February 1803, captured by the British in the Battle of San Domingo in February 1806 and added to the RN as HMS Maida, sold 1814.
  • Hercule 74 – Captured by the British near Brest in April 1798 and added to the RN under the same name, BU 1810.
  • Spartiate 74 – Captured by the British in the Battle of the Nile in August 1798 and added to the RN under the same name, BU 1857.
  • Quatorze Juillet 74 – Burnt by accident in April 1798.
  • Argonaute 74 – Transferred to Spain 1806 as Argonauta as a prison hulk, wrecked in March 1810.
  • Union 74 – Renamed Diomede in February 1803, captured and burnt by the British in the Battle of San Domingo in February 1806.
  • Duguay-Trouin 74 – Captured by the British in the Battle of Cape Ortegal in November 1805 and added to the RN as HMS Implacable, renamed Foudroyant 1943, scuttled 1949.
  • Aigle 74 – Captured by the British in the Battle of Trafalgar in October 1805 and wrecked in the subsequent storm.
  • Scipion 74 – Captured by the British in the Battle of Cape Ortegal in November 1805 and added to the RN under the same name, BU 1819.
  • Héros 74 – captured by the Spanish at Cadiz in June 1808 and renamed Heroe, stricken 1839 at Ferrol.
  • Pacificateur 74 – construction begun in May 1801 and abandoned soon after, never launched. Broken up circa 1803.
  • Brutus 74 – renamed Impétueux in February 1803; burnt by the British in Chesapeake Bay in August 1806
  • Magnanime 74 - became floating prison Bagne No 1 in 1816 and struck 1820.
  • Suffren 74 - condemned 1816 and taken to pieces in 1823.
  • Lion 74 – Driven ashore by the British and burnt near Frontignan in October 1809.
Cassard class
This design by Jacques-Noël Sané was enlarged from the Téméraire Class in order to mount an upper deck battery of 24pdrs compared with the 18pdrs of the earlier class. They were begun in 1793 and 1794 respectively as Lion and Magnanime, but were renamed Glorieux and Quatorze Juillet in 1798; the second ship became Vétéran in 1802.
was proclaimed Emperor on 18 May 1804 and ruled until he abdicated on 6 April 1814, at which time the Bourbon monarchy resumed under Louis XVIII. The Empire was briefly restored during the Hundred Days from 20 March to 22 June 1815; this section of the article includes all ships of the line launched from May 1804 to June 1815.

118-gun ships ("vaisseaux de 118") of the First Empire

Later Dauphin Royal class
Commerce de Paris class, design by Jacques-Noël Sané, shortened from his 118-gun design by removing one pair of guns from each deck.
This group comprised two small three-deckers built at Rotterdam from 1799 for the Batavian Navy, and annexed to France when the Dutch state was absorbed by the French Empire in 1810. Both were reclassed as 80-gun ships in April 1811.
Chattam class 90-gun ships designed by P. Glavimans.
Bucentaure class 80-gun ships designed by Jacques-Noël Sané, a modification of the 80-ship Tonnant class listed above. 21 ships were launched to this design, of which 16 were afloat by the end of 1814
Téméraire class
  • Algésiras 74 – Captured by the British in the Battle of Trafalgar in October 1805, retaken by the French two days later, captured by the Spanish at Cadiz in June 1808, renamed Algeciras, stricken 1826
  • Achille 74 – Burnt by the British in the Battle of Trafalgar in October 1805.
  • Régulus 74 - burned in April 1813 in the Gironde to avoid capture.
  • Courageux 74 - struck 1827 and taken to pieces in 1831-32.
  • Ajax 74 - struck 1818.
  • D'Hautpoult 74 – captured by the British in an action in the Caribbean in April 1809 and added to the RN as HMS Abercrombie, sold 1817
  • Polonais 74 – renamed Lys 1814, renamed Polonais 1815, renamed Lys 1815, BU 1825
  • Tonnerre 74 – Burnt by the British in the Battle of the Basque Roads in April 1809
  • Danube 74 = school ship 1822, struck and taken to pieces in 1826.
  • Golymin 74 - wrecked and sank 1814.
  • Triomphant 74
  • Ulm 74
  • Marengo 74 – 80 guns from 1837; renamed Pluton 1866, BU 1873
  • Nestor 74 – 80 guns from 1837.
  • Trajan 74
  • Trident 74 – 80 guns from 1837; BU 1879
  • Agamemnon 74 – raséed 1822–23 at Brest, becoming 1st Class 58-gun frigate, renamed Amphitrite in April 1824; deleted 1836.
  • Gaulois 74 – taken to pieces 1831.
  • Romulus 74 – raséed 1820–21 at Brest, becoming 1st Class 58-gun frigate, renamed Guerrière in June 1921, BU 1840
  • Ville de Marseille 74 – 80 guns from 1837; BU 1827
  • Colosse 74 – raséed 1825–27 at Brest, becoming 1st Class 58-gun frigate, renamed Pallas in 1825; deleted 1840, taken to pieces 1854.
  • Duguay-Trouin 74
  • Orion 74
  • Scipion 74 – 80 guns from 1837.
  • Superbe 74
  • Hercule 74 – renamed Provence on 19 April 1814, Hercule on 23 March 1815, Provence on 15 July 1815, and Alger on 15 July 1830; 80 guns from 1837; BU 1881
  • Brillant 74 – taken by the British at the Surrender of Genoa in 1814 and finished by the Royal Navy in 1815.
Pluton class – A revised design for Téméraire class, by Jacques-Noël Sané, described officially as "the small model" specially introduced to be constructed at shipyards outside France itself where they lacked the depth of water required to launch 74s of the Téméraire Class.
Four further ships begun at Venice to this design were never launched – Montenotte, Arcole, Lombardo and Semmering; all were broken up on the stocks by the Austrian occupiers.

Captured or otherwise acquired from foreign navies 1805–1810

The Bourbon dynasty was restored under Louis XVIII in June 1815. He died 16 September 1824 and was succeeded by his brother Charles X who abdicated on 2 August 1830. Louis-Philippe reigned from 9 August 1830 until overthrown on 24 February 1848. The Second French Republic was established briefly from 1848.
This section of the article includes all ships of the line launched from July 1815 to February 1848.

118-gun ships ("vaisseaux de 118") of the Restoration

Later Dauphin Royal class
Later units of the 118-gun type, begun during the First Empire, were completed at various dates over the next few decades.
Bucentaure class
Téméraire class
Suffren class, of the Commission de Paris
Hercule class, of the Commission de Paris
Prince Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte became President in December 1848 following the abdication in February 1848 of Louis-Philippe; he subsequently became Emperor Napoléon III on 2 December 1852 and ruled until he was deposed and the Third Republic was proclaimed on 4 September 1870.

''Océan''-class ships of the line

Two further units of the Océan class were built to an altered design, with a thumblehome reduced by 20 centimetres, increasing space available on the upper decks. The design later inspired an aborted Bretagne class which, furthered altered to incorporate the "swift battleship" concept of the Napoléon class, would yield the 130-gun Bretagne, the ultimate wooden capital ship of the French Navy.
The ships of the Hercule class, designed to be 100-gun sailing ships of the line, were modified and transformed into 90-gun steam ships of the line
The ships of the Suffren class, designed to be 90-gun sailing ships of the line, were modified and transformed into 80-gun steam ships of the line
The Tourville class was built along the line of razeed Océan-class three-deckers, giving them good stability and carrying capacity, but poor manoeuvrability for their size.
Designed by Henri Dupuy de Lôme as "swift ships of the line", the Napoléon class was the first to be designed from the conception to be steam battleships. Originally 3rd class, later redesignated as 2nd class.
Algésiras sub-class
  • Algésiras 90 – Transport 1869
  • Arcole 90 – Stricken 1870
  • Redoutable 90 – Stricken 1869
  • Impérial 90 – Hulked 1869
  • Intrépide 90 – Stricken 1889
Ville de Nantes sub-class
Capital ship designed on the same principles as the swift ships of the line of the Napoléon class