French ship Dauphin Royal (1735)

Dauphin Royal was a 74-gun ship of the line of the Royal French Royal Navy, designed in 1735 by Blaise Ollivier and constructed in 1735 to 1740 at Brest Dockyard.

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Dauphin Royal.
History
French Navy EnsignFrance
NameDauphin Royal
NamesakeThe Dauphin of France, heir to the French throne
BuilderBrest Dockyard [1]
Laid downNovember 1735 [1]
Launched13 October 1738 [1]
In serviceOctober 1740 [1]
Out of serviceSeptember 1783 [1]
Stricken1783
FateBroken up in 1787
General characteristics
Class and typeship of the line
Displacement2,608 tonnes
Tons burthen1,400 tonnes [1]
Length
  • 49.9 metres [1]
  • 155 French feet 10 inches[2]
Beam
  • 13.6 metres [1]
  • 42 French feet 4 inches
Draught
  • 6.6 metres [1]
  • 20 French feet 4 inches
Depth of hold20½ French feet
Decks2 gun decks
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Complement
  • 550 men
  • 6 officers
Armament
  • 74 guns:
  • Main battery: 26 x 36-pounders on the lower deck
  • Secondary battery: 28 x 18-pounders on the upper deck
  • Forecastle and quarterdeck: 16 x 8-pounders on the quarterdeck and forecastle
  • Poop 4 x 4-pounders on the poop (these were removed in 1751)
Armourtimber
Battle of Grenada

Construction

Dauphin Royal and the contemporary Superbe, also built at Brest over the same period, were the last French 74-gun ships to have only thirteen pairs of lower deck guns (subsequent 74-gun French ships all were constructed with a fourteenth pair of lower deck guns). In 1747, she was rebuilt at Brest and reduced to 70 guns by the removal of her poop guns.

Career

In early 1744, Dauphin Royal was part of the squadron under Roquefeuil for a cruise in the Channel.[1]

In 1755, she sailed to Canada under Captain de Montalais.[1] In 1757, she was laid up in ordinary at Rochefort.[1]

Dauphin Royal took part in the Battle of Quiberon Bay on 20 November 1759 under Captain d'Uturbie Fragosse.[1]

In 1788, under Nieuil, Dauphin Royal was the lead ship of the Second Division in the White-and-Blue squadron of the fleet under Orvilliers.[3] She took part in the Battle of Ushant, the Invasion of Minorca in 1781, and the Battle of Saint Kitts on 25/26 January 1782. Dauphin Royal and her commander Roquefeuil-Montpeyroux also took part in the Battle of the Saintes on 12 April 1782.[1]

Fate

She was condemned in September 1783 and sold in June 1787 to be broken up.[1]

Citations
  1. Roche (2005), p. 142-143.
  2. The French (pre-metric) foot was 6.575% longer than the equivalent British foot.
  3. Contenson (1934), p. 615.

References
  • Contenson, Ludovic (1934). La Société des Cincinnati de France et la guerre d'Amérique (1778-1783). Paris: éditions Auguste Picard. OCLC 7842336.
  • Demerliac, Alain (1995). La Marine de Louis XV: Nomenclature des Navires Français de 1715 à 1774 (in French). Éditions Ancre. ISBN 9782906381193. OCLC 492782929.
  • 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.
  • 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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