The ''Sémillante'' class was a type of 12-pounder, 32-gun
frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...
of the
French Navy
The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...
, designed by Pierre-Joseph Pénétreau.
*
''Sémillante''
:Builder: Lorient
:Ordered: 23 April 1790 (named)
:Laid down: December 1790
:Launched: 25 November 1791
:Completed: May 1792
:Fate: Given to
Robert Surcouf
Robert Surcouf (; 12 December 1773 – 8 July 1827) was a French privateer, businessman and slave trader who operated in the Indian Ocean from 1789 to 1808 during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Capturing over 40 prizes, he ...
at Mauritius in September 1808 and armed by him as a privateer, renamed ''Charles''. Captured by the Royal Navy in December 1809 and broken up.
*
''Insurgente''
:Builder: Lorient
:Ordered: 3 September 1790
:Laid down: 5 November 1791
:Launched: 27 April 1793
:Completed: June 1793
:Fate: Captured by the US Navy off
Nevis
Nevis ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute the Saint Kitts and Nevis, Federation of Saint Kitts ...
on 8 February 1799, recommissioned as USS ''Insurgent'', but lost at sea in a hurricane in September 1800.
References
* Winfield, Rif and Roberts, Stephen (2015),''French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786-1861: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates'' (Seaforth Publishing) .
Frigate classes
{{France-mil-ship-stub