''Éole'' was a second rank two-decker

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 ...

of the

French Royal 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 ...

. She was armed with 64 guns, comprising twenty-four 24-pounder guns on the lower deck and twenty-six 12-pounder guns on the upper deck, with eight 6-pounder guns on the

quarterdeck The quarterdeck is a raised deck behind the main mast of a sailing ship. Traditionally it was where the captain commanded his vessel and where the ship's colours were kept. This led to its use as the main ceremonial and reception area on bo ...

and six 6-pounder guns on the forecastle. Designed by Joseph Andrault, Marquis de Langeron, and built by Pierre Chaillé, she was begun at

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

in July 1692 as one of the replacements for the ships destroyed by an English attack at La Hougue in June 1692. She was launched in February 1693 and completed in May 1693. ''Éole'', along with her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

, took part in the Battle of Vélez-Málaga on 24 August 1704 and was subsequently scuttled 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 ...

in July 1707, but was later raised. She was sold in 1710 to be taken to pieces.

Notes

References

* * ''Nomenclature des Vaisseaux du Roi-Soleil de 1661 a 1715''. Alain Demerliac (Editions Omega, Nice – various dates). * ''The Sun King's Vessels'' (2015) – Jean-Claude Lemineur; English translation by François Fougerat. Editions ANCRE. * Winfield, Rif and Roberts, Stephen (2017) ''French Warships in the Age of Sail 1626-1786: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates.'' Seaforth Publishing. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Éole (1693) Ships of the line of the French Navy 1690s ships Ships built in France