Nine ships of the
French Navy
The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
have borne the name ''Achille'' in honour of Greek hero
Achilles
In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's ''Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Peleus, k ...
:
* (1705), a 70-gun
ship 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 colu ...
* (1748), a 64-gun ship of the line
* (1778), a 74-gun ship of the line, was renamed ''Achille'' in 1786. She was taken in the ''Glorious First of June'' and recommissioned in the Royal Navy as before being broken up at Plymouth in 1796.
* (1793), a
fluyt
A fluyt (archaic Dutch: ''fluijt'' "flute"; ) is a Dutch type of sailing vessel originally designed by the shipwrights of Hoorn as a dedicated cargo vessel. Originating in the Dutch Republic in the 16th century, the vessel was designed to facilit ...
* (1803), a 74-gun launched in 1803, which took part in the Battle of Trafalgar, where she exploded and sank.
* (1806), a ferry
* (1827), a 90-gun , was started as ''Achille'' before being renamed
* (1848), a 90-gun ''Suffren''-class ship of the line, was started as ''Achille'' before being renamed
* (1933–1940), a
*Also, the 74-gun ship
''Illustre'' (1807), renamed to ''Dantzig'' in 1807, and to ''Achille'' in 1815.
See also
*
Bibliography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Achille, French Ship
French Navy ship names