Capture of the Thétis by HMS Amethyst on 10 November 1808, by Thomas Whitcombe
Class overview
NameNymphe class
BuildersBrest, France
Operators
Preceded byDanaé class
Succeeded byMinerve class
Planned4
Completed4
General characteristics
TypeFrigate
Displacement750 tonnes
Length46.9 m (153 ft 10 in)
Beam11.9 m (39 ft 1 in)
Draught5.8 m (19 ft 0 in)
Sail planShip-rigged
Complement297
Armament
  • 26 × long 18-pounder guns (later increased to 28)
  • 12 × long 8-pounder guns
  • 4 × 36-pounder obusiers

The Nymphe class was a class of four 34/44-gun frigates of the French Navy, designed in 1781 by Pierre-Augustin Lamothe. The prototype (Nymphe) was one of the earliest of the frigates to be armed with 18-pounder long guns. The first two - Nymphe and Thétis - carried 34 guns comprising twenty-six 18-pounders on the upper deck and eight 8-pounders on the quarterdeck and forecastle. The latter two - Cybèle and Concorde - carried an increased armament of 44 guns comprising twenty-eight 18-pounders on the upper deck and twelve 8-pounders plus four 36-pounder obuses on the quarterdeck and forecastle. Thétis was retro-fitted by 1794 to carry the same increased armament as the last two; she was rebuilt at Rochefort from October 1802 to September 1803.

The design followed on at Brest from an earlier class of three smaller frigates (armed with 12-pounder long guns) - named Nymphe (1777), Andromaque (1778) and Astrée (1780) - built at Brest to a different design by Lamothe's father.

Ships in earlier (12-pounder armed) class

These three ships were named on 11 April 1777, 29 September 1777 and 4 December 1778 respectively.

  • Nymphe (12-pounder armed frigate)
Builder: Brest
Begun: April 1777
Launched: 18 August 1777
Completed: November 1777
Fate: captured by British Royal Navy in 1780 and became HMS Nymphe.
Builder: Brest
Begun: August 1777
Launched: 24 December 1777
Completed: April 1778
Fate: Scuttled by fire on 22 August 1796
Builder: Brest
Begun: August 1779
Launched: 16 May 1780
Completed: July 1780
Fate: Wrecked in the Atlantic in May 1795

Ships in (18-pounder armed) class

  • Nymphe (18-pounder armed frigate)
Builder: Brest
Begun: December 1781
Launched: 30 May 1782
Completed: August 1782
Fate: Wrecked at Noirmoutier on 30 December 1793.
Builder: Brest
Ordered: 4 November 1786
Begun: September 1787
Launched: 16 June 1788
Completed: October 1788
Fate: Captured by the British Navy on 10 November 1808 off Lorient. The British took her into service as HMS Brune.
Builder: Brest
Begun: June 1788
Launched: 7 July 1789
Completed: May 1790
Fate: Wrecked in action 24 February 1809 off Sables d'Olonne.
Builder: Brest
Begun: April 1790
Launched: 25 October 1791
Completed: February 1793
Fate: Captured by the British Navy off Brazil on 4 August 1800.

See also

    References

    • Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. Vol. 1. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.
    • Winfield, Rif; Roberts, Stephen S (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1714-1792. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6.
    • Winfield, Rif; Roberts, Stephen S (2017). French Warships in the Age of Sail, 1626-1786. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4738-9351-1.
    • Winfield, Rif; Roberts, Stephen S (2015). French Warships in the Age of Sail, 1786-1861. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-040-6.
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