'La Révolutionnaire' 40-gun Seine class Frigate (With Plans)

[Ned Loe]

Révolutionnaire 

 

 

A very large frigate for her time and extremely fast. Built by the French in 1794, she was captured by the British in the same year. She once averaged 13.5 knots over several hours, chasing and catching one of the fastest French privateers ever! (and breaking the speed record) Again a near perfect ship in sailing qualities, except she couldn’t store enough for the royal navy’s standards, because of her long and low hull. She also served in Sir Edward Pellew’s squadron at the same time as Hornblower would have been on the Indefatigable. She was another favorite and had a fairly long life, lasting until 1822. 

 

Battery:

Upper deck: 28/30 x 18-pounder guns

Quarterdeck: 8 x 9-pounder guns + 6 x 32-pounder carronades

Forecastle: 2 x 9-pounder guns + 2 x 32-pounder carrondes

 

 

 

 

The Seine design was slightly improved upon with the 7-strong Gloire class. One of the Gloire class ships became the basis for the 13 ships of the English Seringapatam class after her capture. The designer of the Révolutionnaire , Pierre-Alexandre-Laurent Forfait, also designed the ship that would become the HMS Surprise featured in the Aubrey-Maturin series. xD: According to records the Révolutionnaire had near perfect sailing qualities, but needed a skilled captain to get her best sailing and speed out of her. Her only faults were because of the differences in French and English design principles; she couldn’t stow as much supplies as English frigates, because of her long and low hull, and she wasn't as strongly built as similar English frigates. 

[_Masterviolin]

Oh boy, a super fast 18-pounder 40-gun frigate with "near perfect sailing qualities"? I think the pirates would love this (and so would I)!

 

Surprise gets an upgrade!

[LeBoiteux]

From Boudriot's History of the French Frigates, p. 211:

- 146'4" x 37'2" x 18'0"

- Plans after capture are said to be in the National Maritime Museum, London.

- Another 18-pdr frigate is laid down in the same year (1794) also by P. -A. Forfait and with the same dimensions : Le Spartiate, renamed La Pensée in 1795. Maybe a sistership.

- Plans from the NMM of the sistership La Seine (1793) : p. 202-203 + p. 190

- About La Seine : "Eleven frigates were built to these draughts (...) All answered their helm well in a still breeze, carried their sail well, had gentle pitching motions but very lively rolling motions tending to strain their spars. They sailed well close-hauled without distinguishing themselves, but were exceptional sailing large, and still excellent with the wind astern (...) not very handy in stays except in good wind, although they veered perfectly" (p. 191). 

[maturin]

 

 

She once averaged 13.5 knots over several hours,

I believe this actually refers to Forte, the ship the British built on her lines.

 

She ran 129 miles in 9.5 hours, which is an average of > 13.5 knots. And entropy being what it is, it means she spent much of that time going faster.

 

Fore was called 'the Irish racehorse' on the Cork station.

[Ned Loe]

Still looking for plans. I know they exist:

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/64339105@N08/6012471095/in/photostream

https://www.flickr.com/photos/64339105@N08/6013018758/in/photostream/

 

Scale: 1:96. A full hull model of the ‘Révolutionnaire’ (1794), a French frigate. The model is decked. The origins of the model are obscure, but French prisoners of war may have made it. It shows the ship unrigged and on a building slip before launch, with the wooden treenails that hold it together featured prominently. ‘Révolutionnaire’ was built at Le Havre in 1793 as a 40-gun ship. Although French ships tended to be bigger than British ones at this time, it was captured by the British frigate ‘Artois’ and others on its first cruise in 1794. It was then received into the British navy as a 38-gun frigate. It took part in Bridport’s action against the French at the Ile de Groix in 1795, and Sir Richard Strachan’s action against some of the French ships that survived Trafalgar in 1805. It was broken up in 1822.

 

Date made Circa 1794

 

 

[LeBoiteux]

Still looking for plans. I know they exist:

 

(...) in the National Maritime Museum, London.

[Ned Loe]

 

I tried this with no luck. I hope someone will share. 

 

http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections.html#!cbrowse

[Cpt Blackthorne]

We definitely need more national variety of ships. Waaayyy too many British ships in the game, and they plan to add 2 more in next patch

[LeBoiteux]

I tried this with no luck. I hope someone will share. 

 

http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections.html#!cbrowse

 

Some plans from the NMM seem to be unavailable online, such as that of La Seine that you can see in Boudrit's book but can't find on NMM website.

[LeBoiteux]

btw, her name is "La Révolutionnaire", not "Révolutionnaire" 

[Mad_Dan_Eccles]

Some plans from the NMM seem to be unavailable online...

 

 

Most, I suspect.  There are thousand of drawings in just the Admiralty collection and thousands more in other collections, though of course many of them will deal with that infernal invention of the devil, the steamship. 

 

If you can give their plans and photo service a ship name and a date they will find and scan any drawings or photos/paintings they have in their collections , but it's not a terribly cheap option for just a casual interest. On the other hand f you are deadly serious about one or two subjects then it could be money well spent.

 

See   http://www.rmg.co.uk/shop/ship-plan-prints-scanning

[Alex Connor]

I recognize the 3D model up top, was made by Captain Armstrong for Age of Pirates. Something of a hybrid between Revolutionnaire and Forte built from Forte's plans. Revolutionnaire post-capture, perhaps.

 

http://collections.rmg.co.uk/mediaLib/2439/media-2439593/large.jpg

 

That said, you could built a fully french Revolutionnaire by combining Forte's plans with details from the model and profile of Revolutionnaire, as the plans include both Revolutionnaire's french hull lines and the more wall-sided upper hull of Forte.

[Ned Loe]

This ship can be a nice competitor to Trincomalee 

[maturin]

dat deadrise

 

 

Woof.

[Guest]

I would love this as a chase ship.. Look at the lines on her, a wellrounded behind and beautifull lines just waiting for the gentle caress of a dedicated captain.. 

Ever so gentle caress...

And perhaps a fellow ship captain would forego the normal rules of engagement and let me marry her without the normal engagement period and the approval of it's maker?