Abeille-class brig

The Abeille class was a type of 16-gun brig-corvette of the French Navy, designed by François Pestel[4] with some units refined by Pierre-Jacques-Nicolas Rolland.[3] They were armed with either 24-pounder carronades, or a mixture of light 6-pounder long guns and lighter carronades. Twenty-one ships of this type were built between 1801 and 1812, and served in the Napoleonic Wars.[3]

1/36 scale model of Cygne, on display at the Musée national de la Marine in Paris
Class overview
NameAbeille
Operators
In commission1800–1847[1]
Completed19[1]
Cancelled2[2]
General characteristics
Displacement350 tonnes [3]
Length32 metres [3]
Beam8.7 metres [3]
Draught3.5 metres [3]
Sail planBrig, 750 m2 of sail
Complement84 men [3]
Armament
  • 16 × 24-pounder carronades
  • or
    • 10 6-pounder long guns
  • 8 × 16-pounder carronades[3]
ArmourTimber

The four first ships were ordered in bulk on 24 December 1800, but two (Mouche and Serin) could not be completed due to shortages of timbers.[2][5] As the forerunner of the series, Abeille, is not always identified as such in British sources, the type is sometimes referred to as the Sylphe class, after Sylphe, which served as model for subsequent constructions.[3]

Ships
  • Mouche
Builder: Toulon [2]
Begun: 24 December 1800[2]
Launched:
Completed:
Fate: Never completed due to lack of timber.[2]
  • Abeille
Builder: Toulon [6]
Begun: 24 December 1800 [6]
Launched: 24 June 1801 [6]
Completed: 21 May 1801 [6]
Fate: Hulked in 1844, renamed Molène and used as an achor depot in Brest in 1865 [6]
Builder: Toulon [7]
Begun: September 1801 [7]
Launched: 24 December 1801 [7]
Completed: 25 February 1802 [7]
Fate: Captured by HMS Hydra on 27 February 1806 [7]
  • Serin
Builder: Toulon [5]
Begun: 1802
Launched:
Completed:
Fate: Never completed due to lack of timber.[5]
Builder: Nantes [8]
Begun: 1803 [8]
Launched: 8 July 1804 [8]
Completed:
Fate: Captured by HMS Goliath on 2 August 1805 and commissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Fawn[8]
Builder: Caudan, Lorient [9]
Begun: 15 June 1803 [9]
Launched: 27 April 1804 [9]
Completed: 13 July 1804 [9]
Fate: Captured by HMS Niobe on 28 March 1806.[9]
Builder: Dunkerque [10]
Begun: June 1803 [10]
Launched: 10 July 1804 [10]
Completed: 29 September 1804 [10]
Fate: Captured by HMS Comet on 18 August 1808, commissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Seagull [10]
  • Adonis
Builder: Genoa (Italy) [11]
Begun: April 1805 [11]
Launched: 18 August 1806 [11]
Completed: 21 November 1806 [11]
Fate: Broken up in 1823 [11]
Builder: Le Havre Dockyard[12]
Begun: 28 April 1806 [12]
Launched: 12 September 1806 [12]
Completed:
Fate: Ran aground and scuttled by fire to avoid capture [12]
  • Écureuil
Builder:
Begun:
Launched:
Completed:
Fate:
  • Requin
Builder:
Begun:
Launched:
Completed:
Fate:
  • Béarnais
Builder:
Begun:
Launched:
Completed:
Fate:
Builder:
Begun:
Launched:
Completed:
Fate:
  • Pluvier
Builder:
Begun:
Launched:
Completed:
Fate:
  • Basque
Builder:
Begun:
Launched:
Completed:
Fate:
  • Hussard
Builder:
Begun:
Launched:
Completed:
Fate:
Builder: Genoa Dockyard
Begun: November 1808
Launched: 12 May 1810
Completed:
Fate: Seized by the British in 1814 with the capitulation of Genoa
  • Zèbre
Builder:
Begun:
Launched:
Completed:
Fate:
  • Faune
Builder:
Begun:
Launched:
Completed:
Fate:
  • Actéon
Builder:
Begun:
Launched:
Completed:
Fate:
Builder:
Begun:
Launched:
Completed:
Fate:

Citations
  1. Roche, p.484
  2. Roche, p.316
  3. Roche, p.379 (Requin)
  4. MONOGRAPHIE DU CYGNE - Brick -1806 24-PDR BRIG LE CYGNE BY ENGINEER PESTEL 1806 -1808 MONOGRAPH Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  5. Roche, p.412
  6. Roche, p.17
  7. Roche, p.217
  8. Roche, p.194
  9. Roche, p.323
  10. Roche, p.428
  11. Roche, p.22
  12. Roche, p.138

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.
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