French ship Royal Louis (1780)

Ship of the line of the French Navy

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Royal Louis and French ship Républicain.

Républicain grounded on Mingant rock. Drawing by Pierre Ozanne.

History
France
Name| Royal Louis
Namesake| Louis of France
Builder| Brest Dockyard[1]
Laid down| 8 March 1779[1]
Launched| 20 March 1780[1]
Completed| June 1780[1]
Commissioned| June 1780[1]
Renamed| Républicain (29 September 1792)[1]
Fate| Wrecked, 24 December 1794
General characteristics
Class and type| 106-gun ship of the line
Tonnage| 2,400 tonnes[1]
Displacement| 4,835 tonnes[1]
Length| 60.4 metres[1]
Beam| 16.2 metres[1]
Draught| 8.6 metres[1]
Depth of hold| 24½ French feet
Complement| 1,150[1]
Armament|

* 106 guns
* 30 × 48-pounders on the lower deck[Note 1]
* 32 × 24-pounders on the middle deck
* 32 × 12-pounders on the upper deck
* 12 × 8-pounders on the quarterdeck and forecastle
* 4 more 8-pounders were added in 1784[Note 2]

Armour| timber

Royal Louis was a 110-gun ship of the line of the French Royal Navy. She was designed and built at Brest Dockyard by Léon-Michel Guignace.

## Career

[edit]

In 1780, Royal Louis was under Beaussier de Chateauvert.[2] She took part in the Battle of Cape Spartel on 20 October 1782 under Beausset, with Verdun de La Crenne as flag captain, although she did not engage.[3]

She was renamed Républicain in September 1792. Under this name, she took part in the Third Battle of Ushant, being the last ship of the French rear. She was attacked, totally dismasted, and struck her colours; however, the British failed to possession, and she returned to Rochefort.[1]

On 24 December 1794, she took part in the Croisière du Grand Hiver. As the fleet exited Brest harbour, she ran aground with the loss of 10 men. Her crew abandoned ship, and the wreck was destroyed in a tempest a few days later.[1]

Representations of Républicain (ex-Royal-Louis)

* Vue du port de Brest by Jean-François Hue

* Républicain, details of Vue du port de Brest by Jean-François Hue

* Naive drawing of Républicain sinking

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ The 48-pounders were replaced by 36-pounders on 1782.
2. ^ 4 more 8-pounders were added here in 1786, but these were replaced by 4 × 36-pounder obusiers in 1794

## Citations

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Roche (2005), p. 388.
2. ^ Taillemite (1982), p. 28.
3. ^ Lacour-Gayet (1905), p. 448.

## References

[edit]

* Demerliac, Alain (1996). La Marine de Louis XVI: Nomenclature des Navires Français de 1774 à 1792 (in French). Éditions Ancre. ISBN 9782906381230. OCLC 468324725.
* Demerliac, Alain (1999). La Marine de la Révolution: Nomenclature des Navires Français de 1792 à 1799 (in French). Éditions Ancre. ISBN 9782906381247. OCLC 492783890.
* Lacour-Gayet, Georges (1905). La marine militaire de la France sous le règne de Louis XVI. Paris: Honoré Champion. OCLC 763372623.
* Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours 1 1671 - 1870. p. 223\. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.
* Taillemite, Étienne (1982). Dictionnaire des Marins français. Paris: Éditions maritimes et d'Outre-Mer. ISBN 9782707000316. OCLC 239744936.
* Winfield, Rif; Roberts, Stephen S (2017). French Warships in the Age of Sail 1626–1786: Design Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-4738-9351-1.

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