 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (February 2013) |
 Capture of the Thétis by HMS Amethyst on 10 November 1808, by Thomas Whitcombe
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Nymphe class |
| Builders | Brest, France |
| Operators | |
| Preceded by | Danaé class |
| Succeeded by | Minerve class |
| Planned | 4 |
| Completed | 4 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Frigate |
| Displacement | 750 tonnes |
| Length | 46.9 m (153 ft 10 in) |
| Beam | 11.9 m (39 ft 1 in) |
| Draught | 5.8 m (19 ft 0 in) |
| Sail plan | Ship-rigged |
| Complement | 297 |
| Armament |
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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.