French ship Royal Louis (1780)

Républicain grounded on Mingant rock. Drawing by Pierre Ozanne.
History
France
Namesake: Louis of France
Builder: Brest Dockyard
Laid down: 8 March 1779
Launched: 20 March 1780
Completed: June 1780
Commissioned: June 1780
Renamed: Républicain (29 September 1792)
Fate: wrecked, 24 December 1794
General characteristics
Class and type: 106-gun ship of the line
Tonnage: 2,400
Displacement: 4,835
Length: 186 French feet[1]
Beam: 50 French feet
Draught: 26½ French feet
Depth of hold: 24½ French feet
Complement: 1,035 - 1,150
Armament:
  • 106 guns
  • 30 x 48-pounders on the lower deck[2]
  • 32 x 24-pounders on the middle deck
  • 32 x 12-pounders on the upper deck
  • 12 x 8-pounders on the quarterdeck and forecastle
  • 4 more 8-pounders were added in 1784[3]
Armour: timber

The Royal Louis was a 106-gun (110 guns from 1786) ship of the line of the French Royal Navy. She was designed and built at Brest Dockyard by Léon-Michel Guignace.

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 capture her, and she returned to Rochefort.

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.

References

  • 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.
  • Nomenclature des navires français de 1715 á 1774. Alain Demerliac (Editions Omega, Nice – 1995). ISBN 2-906381-19-5.
  • Winfield, Rif and Roberts, Stephen (2017) French Warships in the Age of Sail 1626-1786: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4738-9351-1.
  1. ↑ The pre=metric French foot was 6.575% longer than the equivalent British foot.
  2. ↑ The 48-pounders were replaced by 36-pounders during 1782.
  3. ↑ 4 more 8-pounders were added here in 1786, but these were replaced by 4 x 36-pounder obusiers in 1794


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