Preneuse-class frigate

The Preneuse class was a type of two 44-gun frigates of the French Navy, designed by Raymond-Antoine Haran and built at Rochefort, Charente-Maritime.

• Preneuse

Builder: Rochefort Dockyard

Ordered: 24 April 1794

Begun: April 1794

Launched: 16 February 1795

Completed: July 1795

Fate: Ran aground 11 December 1799 on the Île de France (Mauritius) to avoid attack by British warships, which then burnt her.

• Africaine

Builder: Rochefort Dockyard

Ordered: 1795

Begun: March 1795

Launched: 3 January 1798

Completed: May 1798

Fate: Captured 19 February 1801 by HMS Phoebe east of Gibraltar. Recaptured 13 September 1810 by the French but immediately retaken bu HMS Boadicea. Taken to pieces in September 1816.

Class overview
Name	Preneuse
Builders	Rochefort
Operators	French Navy  Royal Navy
Preceded by	Virginie class
Succeeded by	Armide class
Completed	2
Lost	2
General characteristics
Type	frigate
Displacement	1400 tonnes
Tons burthen	722 tonnes
Length	47.75 metres
Beam	11.85 metres
Draught	5.8 metres
Depth of hold	6.17 metres
Propulsion	Sail
Complement	340 in wartime; 260 in peacetime
Armament	44 guns: 28 18-pounder long guns 12 8-pounder long guns 4 36-pounder obuses
Armour	Timber
Notes	Ships in class include: Preneuse, Africaine

References

• Demerliac, Alain (2004). La Marine de la Révolution: Nomenclature des Navires Français de 1792 A 1799 (in French). Éditions Ancre. ISBN 2-906381-24-1.
• Demerliac, Alain (2004). La Marine du Consulat et du Premier Empire: Nomenclature des Navires Français de 1800 A 1815 (in French). Éditions Ancre. ISBN 2-903179-30-1.
• Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-246-7.
• Winfield, Rif; 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.