The ''Centaure'' class was a class of 74-gun

ships of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colum ...

of the French Navy, comprising four ships, all of which built at

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

Dockyard to a design dated 28 March 1782 by Joseph-Marie-Blaise Coulomb in the year following the close of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. The first pair were ordered on 15 February 1782, and were named on 13 April. After the first two ships were begun, the design was amended for the second pair (which were 5¼ feet longer, and also had slightly less breadth and depth in hold) – which are accordingly often described as the . This second pair were ordered on 1 June 1782 and named on 21 August. All four ships were destroyed or captured by the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

during the

French Revolutionary War The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

Ships in classWinfield & Roberts 2015, p. 87

* ''Centaure'' :Builder: Toulon :Ordered: 15 February 1782 :Begun: 12 May 1782 :Launched: 7 November 1782 :Completed: December 1782 :Fate: Burnt by the British Navy during the evacuation of Toulon on 18 December 1793. * ''Heureux'' :Builder: Toulon :Ordered: 15 February 1782 :Begun: 12 May 1782 :Launched: 19 December 1782 :Completed: April 1783 :Fate: Burnt by the British after the

Battle of the Nile The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay; french: Bataille d'Aboukir) was a major naval battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the Navy of the French Republic at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast off the ...

, 2 August 1798. * ''Séduisant'' :Builder: Toulon :Ordered: 1 June 1782 :Begun: August 1782 :Launched: 5 July 1783 :Completed: 1783 :Fate: Wrecked while sailing from Brest, 16 December 1796 * ''Mercure'' :Builder: Toulon :Ordered: 1 June 1782 :Begun: August 1782 :Launched: 4 August 1783 :Completed: 1783 :Fate: Burnt by the British after the

, 2 August 1798

References

*Demerliac, Cmdt. Alain, ''Nomenclature des navires français de 1774 a 1792''. Editions ANCRE, Nice. *Winfield, Rif and Roberts, Stephen S. (2017) ''French Warships in the Age of Sail 1626–1786: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates.''. Seaforth Publishing, 2017. . *Winfield, Rif and Roberts, Stephen S. (2015) ''French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786-1861: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates.'' Seaforth Publishing. . {{French Ship classes 1750-1850 74-gun ship of the line classes Ship of the line classes from France Ship classes of the French Navy