French ship Vendôme (1651)

The Vendôme was a 72-gun ship of the line of the French Royal Navy, the smallest ship to be classed as a First Rank ship in the French Navy. She was built at Brest Dockyard, designed and constructed by Laurent Hubac. She was nominally a three-decker, but in practice the upper deck was divided into armed sections aft and forward of the unarmed waist, making the upper deck equivalent to a quarterdeck and forecastle.

History
French Navy EnsignFrance
NameVendôme
NamesakeCésar de Bourbon, Duc de Vendôme
OwnerFrench Royal Navy
BuilderLaurent Hubac, in Brest Dockyard
Laid down1647
Launched1651
Completed1654
Out of service1667
RenamedVictorieux on 24 June 1671
FateTaken to pieces in 1679
General characteristics
Class and typeship of the line
Tonnage1,450 tons
Length150 French feet[a]
Beam40 French feet
Draught17½ French feet
Depth of hold17½ French feet
Decks3 gun decks
Complement600 (later 550), +9 officers
Armament
ArmourTimber

Service history

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The Vendôme began to go into commission in March 1665, began reconstruction at Brest Dockyard in August 1665, and became flagship of the Ponant (Atlantic) Fleet under chef d'escadre Abraham Duquesne on 29 April 1666.

Disposal

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Her name was technically altered to Victorieux on 24 June 1671, but this was not put into practice as she was condemned on 17 July 1671 and she became a careening hulk at Brest until condemned in 1679.

Notes

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  1. ^ The (pre-metric) French foot was 6.575% longer than the equivalent English foot.

References

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  • 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 Vaisseaux du Roi-Soleil de 1661 a 1715. Alain Demerliac (Editions Omega, Nice – various dates).
  • The Sun King's Vessels (2015) – Jean-Claude Lemineur; English translation by François Fougerat. Editions ANCRE. ISBN 978-2903179885
  • 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.
  • Vaisseaux de Ligne Français de 1682 à 1780 1