Concorde-class frigate

The Concorde class was a type of 32-gun frigate of the French Navy, designed by Henri Chevillard,^[a][3] carrying 12-pounder long guns as their main armament. Three ships of this type were built between 1778 and 1779, and served during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars.

Hermione in the Naval battle of Louisbourg, by Auguste-Louis de Rossel de Cercy
Class overview
Name	Concorde class
Builders	Rochefort
Operators	French Navy  Royal Navy
Planned	3[1]
Completed	4[note 1]
Preserved	1
General characteristics
Type	Frigate
Displacement	550 tonnes [2]
Length	44.2 m (145.0 ft)[2]
Beam	11.2 m (36.7 ft)[2]
Draught	4.8 m (15.7 ft)[2]
Sail plan	Ship-rigged
Armament	26 × 12-pounder long guns [2] 6 × 6-pounder long guns [2]
Armour	Timber

The class is noteworthy for comprising a fourth unit, Hermione (2014), laid down in 1997 and launched in 2014; she is a replica ship of Hermione (1779), famous for ferrying General Lafayette and for her role in the Naval battle of Louisbourg under the command of Lieutenant de Latouche, who would rise to become Vice-admiral Latouche-Tréville.

Ships

• Concorde

Builder: Rochefort^[2]

Begun: April 1777^[2]

Launched: 3 September 1777^[2]

Completed: January 1778^[2]

Fate: Captured by the Royal Navy on 15 February 1783.^[2] Sold on 21 February 1811.

• Courageuse

Builder: Rochefort ^[4]

Begun: September 1777 ^[4]

Launched: 28 February 1778 ^[4]

Completed: April 1778 ^[4]

Fate: Captured by HMS Centaur in the action of 18 June 1799

• Hermione

Builder: Rochefort^[5]

Begun: March 1778^[4]

Launched: 28 April 1779^[4]

Completed: June 1779^[4]

Fate: Ran aground and wrecked due to a navigation error of her pilot at Croisic on 20 September 1793^[4]

• Hermione

Builder: Rochefort

Begun: 1997

Launched: 2012

Notes

1. one is a replica built between 1997 and 2012

Citations

1. Roche, p.496
2. Roche, p.123
3. Winfield. British Warships of the Age of Sail 1714–1792. p. 213.
4. Roche, p.131
5. Roche, p.141

References

• Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. Vol. 1. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.
• Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships of the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-86176-295-5.