The ''Tonnant'' class was a series of eight 80-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 ...

designed in 1787 by

Jacques-Noël Sané Jacques-Noël Sané (18 February 1740, Brest – 22 August 1831, Paris) was a French naval engineer. He was the conceptor of standardised designs for ships of the line and frigates fielded by the French Navy in the 1780s, which served during the ...

, whose plans for the prototype were approved on 29 September 1787. With sixteen gunports on the lower deck on each side (although only fifteen of these ports on each side were routinely provided with 36-''livre'' guns) these were the most effective two-deckers of their era. Their broadside of 1,102 ''livres'' equated to 1,190 British pounds weight, over 50% more than the standard British 74-gun ship, and even greater than that of a British 100-gun three-decker. Five ships were ordered from 1787 to 1793, and all were completed during the 1790s; six more were ordered in January 1794 to be built to this design 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 ...

, but only three of these were named and laid down. All but one of the eight ships were to be captured or destroyed by the British Navy, and four of these were to enjoy long careers in their new service. The prizes were highly regarded by British sea officers, but they proved costly and time-consuming to maintain. From 1802 a new group (the ) of French 80-gun ships was begun of slightly modified design, of which more than 24 were begun.

''Tonnant'' class (8 ships)

The design dimensions of these ships (in French ''pieds'' of 324.84mm) were 182.5 overall length, 167 keel length x 47.0 breadth x 23.5 depth in hold (see General Characteristics box for metric equivalents and those in UK/US units). * ''Tonnant'' :Builder: Toulon :Begun: December 1787 :Launched: 24 October 1789 :Completed: September 1790 :Fate: Captured 2 August 1798 in 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 ...

, added to Royal Navy as HMS ''Tonnant'', broken up 1821 * ''Indomptable'' :Builder: Brest :Begun: September 1788 :Launched: 20 December 1790 :Completed: April 1793 :Fate: Wrecked off Rota 22 October 1805 after the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (180 ...

* ''Sans Pareil'' :Builder: Brest :Begun: October 1790 :Launched: 8 June 1793 :Completed: September 1793 :Fate: Captured 1 June 1794 by the

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 Fourth Battle of Ushant, broken up October 1842 * ''Indivisible'' :Builder: Brest :Begun: May 1793 :Launched: 8 July 1799 :Completed: October 1799 :Fate: Renamed ''Alexandre'' 5 February 1802, captured by Britain 6 February 1805, hulked 1808 and sold to be broken up May 1822 * ''Foudroyant'' :Builder: Rochefort :Ordered: December 1793 :Launched: 18 May 1799 :Completed: August 1800 :Fate: Struck 26 October 1833 and broken up 1834 * ''Formidable'' :Builder: Toulon :Begun: August 1794 :Launched: 17 March 1795 :Completed: October 1795 :Fate: Captured 3 November 1805 during

Battle of Cape Ortegal The Battle of Cape Ortegal was the final action of the Trafalgar campaign, and was fought between a squadron of the Royal Navy and a remnant of the fleet that had been defeated earlier at the Battle of Trafalgar. It took place on 4 November 180 ...

, renamed HMS ''Brave'', broken up April 1816 * ''Guillaume Tell'' :Builder: Toulon :Begun: September 1794 :Launched: 21 October 1795 :Completed: July 1796 :Fate: Captured 31 March 1800 off

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, renamed HMS ''Malta'', broken up August 1840 * ''Franklin'' :Builder: Toulon :Begun: November 1794 :Launched: 25 June 1797 :Completed: March 1798 :Fate: Captured 2 August 1798 in the

, renamed HMS ''Canopus'', broken up October 1887

References

*Winfield, Rif and Roberts, Stephen S. (2017) ''French Warships in the Age of Sail 1626–1786: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates.''. Naval Institute Press, 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 80-gun ship of the line classes Ship of the line classes from France Ship classes of the French Navy