French ship Royal Louis (1759)

The Royal Louis was a 116-gun ship of the line of the Royal French Navy, designed in 1757 by Jacques-Luc Coulomb and constructed in 1757 to 1762 by Laurent Coulomb at Brest Dockyard. She was the fourth ship to bear the name, and the only ship of the Sans-Pareil design ever built.

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Royal Louis.
Model of the fictitious ship Sans-Pareil that defined the type of Royal Louis
History
French Navy EnsignFrance
NamesakeLouis XV of France
Ordered29 May 1757
BuilderBrest Dockyard
Laid downJune 1757
LaunchedMay 1759
CompletedJuly 1762
Stricken1772
FateBroken up in 1773
General characteristics
Class and typeFirst Rank ship of the line
Tonnage3,000
Displacement4,732
Length190 French feet[lower-alpha 1]
Beam51½ French feet (16.73 m)
Draught25 French feet 8 inches
Depth of hold24½ French feet
Decks3 gun decks
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Complement1,320, + 18 officers
Armament
  • 116 guns:
  • Main battery: 32 x 36-pounders on the lower deck
  • Secondary battery: 34 x 24-pounders on the middle deck
  • Upper battery: 34 x 12-pounders on the upper deck
  • Forecastle and quarterdeck: 16 x 8-pounders on the quarterdeck and forecastle
Armourtimber

History

In August 1771, when in dry dock, she was found to have deteriorated beyond repair and was eventually demolished in 1773, without having seen any service.

Legacy

A 1/18 scale model on display at the Musée national de la Marine in Paris, MnM 13 MG 32, is thought to represent Royal Louis.

Model MnM 13 MG 32 at the Musée national de la Marine

Notes
  1. The French (pre-metric) foot was 6.575% longer than the equivalent British foot.

References
  • Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours 1 1671 - 1870. JMR. Jean-Michel Roche. p. 223. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.
  • Nomenclature des navires français de 1715 á 1774. Alain Demerliac (Editions Omega, Nice – 1995). ISBN 2-906381-19-5.
  • Winfield, Rif and Roberts, Stephen (2017) French Warships in the Age of Sail 1626-1786: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4738-9351-1.
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