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The Virginie class was a class of ten 40-gun frigates of the French Navy, designed in 1793 by Jacques-Noël Sané. An eleventh vessel (Zephyr) begun in 1794 was never completed.
 Virginie fighting HMS Indefatigable
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Virginie |
| Builders | Toulon |
| Operators | |
| Preceded by | Seine class |
| Succeeded by | Preneuse class |
| Completed | 10 |
| Cancelled | 1 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Frigate |
| Displacement | 1,400 tonnes |
| Tons burthen | 1,090 |
| Length | 47.4 m (155 ft 6 in) |
| Beam | 11.9 m (39 ft 1 in) |
| Draught | 5.5 m (18 ft 1 in) |
| Propulsion | Sail |
| Armament | 40 guns {though pierced for 44 guns} |
| Armour | Timber |
- Builder: Brest
- Begun: November 1793
- Launched: 26 July 1794
- Completed: December 1794
- Fate: Captured by the British Navy on 22 April 1796, becoming HMS Virginie.
- Builder: Brest
- Begun: December 1793
- Launched: early August 1794
- Completed: December 1794
- Fate: Renamed Justice April 1795. Captured by the British Navy in September 1801, but not added to Royal Navy; instead, handed over to the Turkish Navy.
- Builder: Bordeaux
- Begun: May 1794
- Launched: early 1796
- Completed: May 1796
- Fate: Beached and burnt to avoid capture by the British Navy in April 1797.
- Builder: Bordeaux
- Begun: September 1794
- Launched: 7 June 1796
- Completed: 1796
- Fate: Captured by the British Navy on 4 March 1806, becoming HMS Volontaire.
- Builder: Brest
- Begun: March 1794
- Launched: 19 September 1796
- Completed: April 1798
- Fate: Captured by the Spanish Navy in June 1808, becoming Spanish Cornelia.
- Zéphyr
- Builder: Brest
- Begun: March 1794
- Fate: Construction abandoned in April 1804 (never launched).
- Builder: Saint Malo
- Begun: September 1796
- Launched: 1 August 1799
- Completed: September 1800
- Fate: Captured by the British Navy on 10 August 1805, becoming HMS Didon.
- Builder: Saint Malo
- Begun: September 1799
- Launched: 29 June 1802
- Completed: July 1802
- Fate: Wrecked in November 1805.
- Builder: Toulon
- Begun: June 1801
- Launched: 15 April 1802
- Completed: October 1802
- Fate: Captured by the British Navy on 27 July 1806, becoming HMS Rhin.
- Builder: Basse-Indre
- Begun: June 1801
- Launched: 17 April 1802
- Completed: September 1802
- Fate: Captured by the British Navy on 13 March 1806, becoming HMS Belle Poule.
- Builder: Basse-Indre
- Begun: July 1801
- Launched: 29 May 1802
- Completed: December 1802
- Fate: Captured by the British Navy on 30 November 1803, becoming HMS Surveillante.
References
edit- Rif Winfield, British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1793-1817, Seaforth Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-1-84415-717-4.
- Winfield, Rif; Roberts, Stephen S (2015). French Warships in the Age of Sail, 1786-1861. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-040-6.