Forte-class frigate

Forte class
Portrait of Égyptienne by Jean-Jacques Baugean
Class overview
NameForte
BuildersLorient, Toulon
Operators
Preceded byRésistance class
Succeeded byRomaine class
Completed2
General characteristics [1]
Type50-gun frigate
Displacement2,042 tons displacement
Tons burthen1,012 tons (port measurement)
Length52 m (170 ft 7 in) (gundeck); 48 m (157 ft) (keel)
Beam13 m (42 ft 8 in)
Draught5.85 m (19 ft 2 in)
Depth of hold5.66 m (18 ft 7 in)
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Armament
  • 30 × 24-pounder long guns (in the upper deck)
  • 20 × 8-pounder long guns (6 on the forecastle, 14 on the quarterdeck)
  • 4 × 36-pounder carronades[2]

The Forte class was a class of two large frigates of the French Navy, designed in 1794 by François Caro. They carried 30 24-pounder long guns as their main battery and 20 × 8-pdrs on the quarterdeck and forecastle; they were exceptionally large and powerful heavy frigates for their time.

Builder: Lorient
Begun: 30 May 1794
Launched: 26 September 1794
Completed: November 1794
Fate: Captured by the British Navy on 1 March 1799, became HMS Forte, wrecked in January 1801 in the Red Sea.
Builder: Toulon
Begun: 26 September 1798
Launched: 17 July 1799
Completed: November 1799
Fate: Captured by the British Navy on 2 September 1801, became HMS Egyptienne, sold for breaking up 30 April 1817
  1. ^ Roche p.206
  2. ^ Troude, p.173