A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which involved the two columns of opposing warships manoeuvering to volley fire with the cannons along their broadsides. In conflicts where opposing ships were both able to fire from their broadsides, the faction with more cannons firing – and therefore more firepower – typically had an advantage.
The "seventy-four" was a type of two-decked sailing ship of the line, which nominally carried 74 guns. It was developed by the French navy in the 1740s, replacing earlier classes of 60- and 62-gun ships, as a larger complement to the recently developed 64-gun ships. Impressed with the performance of several captured French seventy-fours, the British Royal Navy quickly adopted similar designs, classing them as third rates. The type then spread to the Spanish, Dutch, Danish and Russian navies.
Soleil Royal was a French 104-gun ship of the line, flagship of Admiral Tourville.
HMS Prince of Wales was one of six 121-gun screw-propelled first-rate three-decker line-of-battle ships of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 25 January 1860.
Ville de Paris was a large three-decker French ship of the line that became famous as the flagship of Admiral De Grasse during the American Revolutionary War.
The Soleil Royal was a First Rank ship of the line of the French Royal Navy.
The Royal Louis was a ship of the line of the French Royal Navy. She was constructed at Toulon between 1666 and 1669 under the direction of Rodolphe Gédéon and served as flagship of the French fleet in the Mediterranean.
The 18-pounder long gun was an intermediary calibre piece of naval artillery mounted on warships of the Age of Sail. They were used as main guns on the most typical frigates of the early 19th century, on the second deck of third-rate ships of the line, and even on the third deck of late first-rate ships of the line.
The 12-pounder long gun was an intermediary calibre piece of artillery mounted on warships of the Age of Sail. They were used as main guns on the most typical frigates of the early 18th century, on the second deck of fourth-rate ships of the line, and on the upper decks or castles of 80-gun and 120-gun ships of the line. Naval 12-pounders were similar to 12-pound Army guns in the Gribeauval system: the canon lourd de 12 Gribeauval, used as a siege weapon, and the canon de 12 Gribeauval, which was considered a heavy field artillery piece.
The Vendôme was a 72-gun ship of the line of the French Royal Navy, the smallest ship to be classed as a First Rank ship in the French Navy. She was built at Brest Dockyard, designed and constructed by Laurent Hubac. She was nominally a three-decker, but in practice the upper deck was divided into armed sections aft and forward of the unarmed waist, making the upper deck equivalent to a quarterdeck and forecastle.
Fier was a first-rate three-decker ship of the line of the French Royal Navy. She was armed on completion with 90 guns, comprising twenty-six 36-pounder guns on the lower deck, twenty-eight 18-pounder guns on the middle deck, and twenty-six 8-pounder guns on the upper deck, with ten 6-pounder guns on the quarterdeck. In 1706 an extra pair of 36-pounders was added on the lower deck, and an extra pair of 8-pounders on the upper deck, giving her 94 guns in total,
The Foudroyant was a First Rank ship of the line of the French Royal Navy, the lead vessel in the two-ship Foudroyant Class.
The Merveilleux was a First Rank ship of the line of the French Royal Navy, the second vessel in the two-ship Foudroyant Class.
The Lune was a 38-gun ship of the line of the French Royal Navy, the first ship of the line to be built at the new state dockyard at Île d'Indret near Nantes, designed by Deviot and constructed by the Dutch shipwright Jan Gron. She and her sister Soleil were two-deckers, with a mixture of bronze guns on both gun decks.
The Soleil was a 38-gun ship of the line of the French Royal Navy, designed by Deviot and constructed by the Dutch shipwright Jan Gron at the new state dockyard at Île d'Indret near Nantes. She and her sister Lune were two-deckers, with a mixture of bronze guns on both gun decks.
The Sceptre was a First Rank ship of the line of the French Royal Navy, the lead vessel in the two-ship Sceptre Class.
The Lys was a First Rank ship of the line of the French Royal Navy, the second vessel in the two-ship Sceptre Class.
The Tonnant was a First Rank ship of the line of the French Royal Navy, the lead vessel in the two-ship Tonnant Class.
Saint Philippe was a First Rank ship of the line of the French Royal Navy, the second vessel in the two-ship Tonnant Class.
Éole was a second rank two-decker ship of the line of the French Royal Navy. She was armed with 64 guns, comprising twenty-four 24-pounder guns on the lower deck and twenty-six 12-pounder guns on the upper deck, with eight 6-pounder guns on the quarterdeck and six 6-pounder guns on the forecastle.
Kingdom of France
