Argonaute-class ship of the line

The Argonaute class was a class of two 74-gun ships of the French Navy, built to a common design by naval constructor François-Guillaume Clairin-Deslauriers. The design was lengthened by 4feet 9½ inches (4½ pieds) from the designer's previous Scipion class, which had been found to lack stability. The designer died on 10 October 1780, and the construction of these ships was completed by Jean-Denis Chevillard, who was appointed his successor as ingénieur-constructeur en chef at that dockyard in July 1781.[1]

Class overview
Name: Argonaute
Operators:  French Navy
Completed: 2[1]
General characteristics
Class and type: Argonaute class
Length: 55.22 metres
Beam: 14.29 metres
Draught: 7.39 metres
Propulsion: Sails
Armament:
  • 74 guns[1] comprising:
  • Lower deck ("1st tier") 28 x 36-pounder long guns
  • Upper deck ("2nd tier") 30 x 18-pounder long guns
  • Gaillards ("3rd tier") 16 x 8-pounder long guns

Ships
Builder: Rochefort Dockyard
Ordered: June 1779
Begun: August 1779
Launched: 5 June 1781
Completed: December 1781
Fate: Cut down (raséed) to a 'heavy' frigate 1793-94 and renamed Flibustier; disarmed in December 1795 and later taken to pieces.
Builder: Lorient Dockyard
Ordered: June 1779
Begun: October 1779
Launched: 6 June 1781
Completed: November 1781
Fate: Cut down (raséed) to a 'heavy' frigate 1793-94 (but not renamed); reduced to a hulk at Brest in January 1798, and later taken to pieces.

Notes and references

References
  1. Winfield & Roberts, French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786-1861, p.86.
  2. Roche, p.48
  3. Roche, p.84

Bibliography
  • Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. 1. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. p. 508. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.
  • Winfield, Rif and Roberts, Stephen S. (2017) French Warships in the Age of Sail 1626–1786: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. 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.
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