French ship Centaure (1782)

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Centaure.

Centaure was the name ship of the Centaure class of 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.

A 74-gun French ship of the line similar to Centaure
History
France
Name	Centaure
Namesake	"Centaur"
Ordered	15 February 1782
Builder	Toulon
Laid down	12 May 1782
Launched	7 November 1782
In service	December 1782
Fate	Burnt by the British at the evacuation of Toulon, 18 December 1793
General characteristics
Class & type	Centaure-class ship of the line
Displacement	1,530 tonnes
Length	54.6 m (179 ft 2 in)
Beam	14.3 m (46 ft 11 in)
Draught	7 m (23 ft 0 in)
Propulsion	Sail
Armament	74 guns
Armour	Timber

She was surrendered to the Anglo-Spanish forces at Toulon on 29 August 1793. When Toulon was evacuated by the Allies, the British burnt this ship (among others) on 18 December 1793. The remains were refloated in 1805 and taken to pieces in the following year.

References

• Demerliac, Cmdt. Alain, Nomenclature des navires français de 1774 a 1792. Editions ANCRE, Nice.
• Winfield, Rif and Roberts, Stephen (2015) French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786-1861: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-204-2.