Tonnant-class ship of the line

A Tonnant-class ship of the line, HMS Canopus, the former Franklin
Class overview
Name:	Tonnant
Builders:	Toulon, Brest and Rochefort
Operators:	French Navy  Royal Navy
Preceded by:	Saint-Esprit class
Succeeded by:	Bucentaure class
In commission:	1790–1834
Completed:	8
General characteristics
Type:	Ship of the line
Displacement:	1,800 tonnes
Length:	59.3 m (195 ft)
Beam:	15.3 m (50 ft)
Draught:	7.8 m (26 ft)
Propulsion:	Sail
Armament:	80 guns 30 36-pounders 32 24-pounders 18 12-pounders 4 36-pounder howitzers
Armour:	Timber
Notes:	Ships in class include: Tonnant, Indomptable, Sans Pareil, Formidable, Guillaume Tell, Franklin, Indivisible, Foudroyant

The Tonnant class was a series of eight 80-gun ships of the line designed in 1787 by Jacques-Noël Sané. From 1802 a new group (the Bucentaure class) was begun of slightly modified design, of which more than 24 were begun.

Tonnant class (8 ships)

• Tonnant

Builder: Toulon

Begun: December 1787

Launched: 24 October 1789

Completed September 1790

Fate: Captured 2 August 1798, added to Royal Navy as HMS Tonnant, broken up 1821

• Indomptable

Builder: Brest

Begun: September 1788

Launched: 20 December 1790

Completed: February 1791

Fate: Ran aground after the Battle of Trafalgar October 1805

• Sans Pareil

Builder: Brest

Begun: October 1790

Launched: 8 June 1793

Completed: September 1793

Fate: Captured 1 June 1794 by the Royal Navy, broken up October 1842

• Formidable

Builder: Toulon

Begun: August 1794

Launched: 17 March 1795

Completed: October 1795

Fate: Captured 3 November 1805 during Battle of Cape Ortegal, renamed HMS Brave, broken up April 1816

• Guillaume Tell

Builder: Toulon

Begun: September 1794

Launched: 21 October 1795

Completed: July 1796

Fate: Captured 30 March 1800, renamed HMS Malta, broken up August 1840

• Franklin

Builder: Toulon

Begun: November 1794

Launched: 25 June 1797

Completed: March 1798

Fate: Captured 2 August 1798 in the battle of the Nile, renamed HMS Canopus, broken up October 1887

• Indivisible

Builder: Brest

Begun: May 1793

Launched: 8 July 1799

Completed: October 1799

Fate: Renamed Alexandre 1802, captured by Britain 1805, broken up May 1822

• Foudroyant

Builder: Rochefort

Ordered: December 1793

Launched: 18 May 1799

Completed: August 1800

Fate: Broken up 1834

References

• Winfield, Rif and Roberts, Stephen S. (2017) French Warships in the Age of Sail 1626–1786: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates.. Naval Institute Press, 2017. ISBN 978-1-4738-9351-1.
• Winfield, Rif and Roberts, Stephen S. (2015) French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786-1861: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-204-2.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tonnant class ship of the line.