The Téméraire-class ships of the line were a class of a hundred and twenty 74-gun ships of the line ordered between 1782 and 1813 for the French navy or its attached navies in dependent (French-occupied) territories. Although a few of these were cancelled, the type was and remains the most numerous class of capital ship ever built to a single design.Winfield, p. 69
The class was designed by Jacques-Noël Sané in 1782 as a development of the Annibal and her near-sister Northumberland, both of which had been designed by him and built at Brest during the 1777-1780 period. Some thirteen ships were ordered and built to this new design from 1782 to 1785, and then the same design was adopted as a standard for all subsequent 74-gun ships (the most common type of ship of the line throughout the period from ca. 1750 to 1830) built for the French Navy during the next three decades as part of the fleet expansion programme instituted by Jean-Charles de Borda in 1786.Winfield & Roberts 2015, p. 87 The design was appreciated in Britain, which eagerly commissioned captured ships (18 in total) and even copied the design with the and .
Under the 1814 Treaty of Paris, eight ships from the Pluton (or 'Small Model') group were ceded to the Royal Netherlands Navy in August 1814. Some of these ships served in the Dutch until the 1830s. Even after 1825 Dutch naval yards continued to build another six ships based on the original design, but with modifications according to Seppings like a rounded transom and closed bow. The last of these was struck off charge as late as 1913: the Piet Heyn of 1833, which was heavily modified as the steam frigate Admiraal van Wassenaer after 1856.
Variants from basic design While all the French 74-gun ships from the mid-1780s until the close of the Napoleonic Wars were to the Téméraire design, there were three variants of the basic design which Sané developed with the same hull form of Téméraire. In 1793 two ships were laid down at Brest to an enlarged design; in 1801 two ships were commenced at Lorient with a slightly shorter length than the standard design (with a third ship commenced at Brest but never completed); and in 1803 two ships were commenced at Toulon to a smaller version (many more ships to this 'small(er) model' were then built in the shipyards controlled by France in Italy and the Netherlands) - these are detailed separately below.
Ships in class Téméraire group (18 ships) Name Builder Ordered Laid down Launched Completed Fate Brest shipyard 15 Feb 1782 May 1782 17 December 1782 July 1783 Condemned, November 1801. Broken up, 1803.Roche, vol.1, p.432 Lorient shipyard July 1782 28 October 1784 1785 Condemned, November 1802. Broken up, 1803.Roche, vol.1, p.56 Brest shipyard 11 November 1784 Wrecked off Brest, 30 Jan 1795.Roche, vol.1, p.426 Rochefort shipyard 21 June 1785 October 1785 Captured by the Royal Navy at Toulon in August 1793, but retaken by the French in December 1793; captured again by the Royal Navy in February 1800 and served as HMS Généreux. Broken up in 1816.Roche, vol.1, p.222-223 , renamed Bonnet Rouge in Jan 1794 and then Timoléon in February 1794. Toulon shipyard 1784 September 1784 15 September 1785 1786 or 1787 Destroyed in action at the Battle of the Nile, August 1798.Roche, vol.1, p.122 , renamed Phocion in October 1792. Brest shipyard December 1784 16 September 1785 1786 Surrendered to Spain by her officers at Trinidad in Jan 1793.Roche, vol.1, p.198 Lorient shipyard 1782 August 1782, but work stopped in Feb 1783 and she was demolished. Laid-down again November 1784. 19 September 1785 Late 1785 Captured by the Royal Navy at Trafalgar on 21 October 1805, and subsequently wrecked.Roche, vol.1, p.212 Brest shipyard 1784 September 1784 3 October 1785 April 1786 Condemned in May 1820 and became Pontoon No.4 in April 1821.Note: The French Ponton can mean a floating walkway, dock, barge, or ship used for storage, accommodation, or even as a prison hulk. Broken up at Rochefort in late 1832.Roche, vol.1, p.343 , renamed Lys in July 1786 and then Tricolore in October 1792. Toulon shipyard 7 October 1785 September 1787 Captured by the Royal Navy at Toulon in August 1793, then destroyed during the Siege of Toulon in December 1793.Roche, vol.1, p.122Roche, vol.1, p.290 , renamed Ça Ira in April 1794 and then Agricola in June 1794. Lorient shipyard Jan 1783, but work stopped in Feb 1783 and she was demolished. Laid down again in November 1784. 17 November 1785 August 1787 Broken up at Rochefort, 1803.Roche, vol.1, p.79 , renamed Mucius Scaevola in November 1793, then Mucius in same month. Rochefort shipyard 1782 October 1784 18 April 1787 1788 Condemned 1802, and broken up 1803–04.Roche, vol.1, p.336 Brest shipyard 1785 October 1785 22 June 1787 July 1787 Wrecked and then burnt, Feb 1793.Roche, vol.1, p.278 Lorient shipyard May 1786 11 October 1787 1788 Broken up, 1803.Roche, vol.1, p.176 Rochefort shipyard July 1786 25 October 1787 Captured by the Royal Navy, 1 June 1794. Accidentally destroyed by fire, 24 August 1794.Roche, vol.1, p.251-252 , renamed Gasparin in Feb 1794, reverted to Apollon in May 1794; renamed Marceau in December 1797. April 1787 21 May 1788 Broken up, 1798.Roche, vol.1, p.44 Brest shipyard End of 1786 1789 Captured by the Royal Navy, 1 June 1794, and served as HMS Impétueux. Broken up, 1813.Roche, vol.1, p.38 30 October 1788 July 1790 Destroyed during the Siege of Toulon, December 1793.Roche, vol.1, p.161 Rochefort shipyard September 1787 8 June 1789 June 1790 Captured by Britain during the Battle of the Nile on 2 August 1798. Served as HMS Aboukir until broken up in Plymouth in 1802.Roche, vol.1, p.45
Duquesne group (46 ships) Name Builder Ordered Laid down Launched Completed Fate Toulon shipyard August 1787 2 September 1788 1789 Captured by the Royal Navy on 24 July 1803, and served as HMS Duquesne. Broken up in 1805. Lorient shipyard June 1787 16 December 1788 July 1790 Decommissioned on 26 October 1833. Broken up at Brest, 1841. 15 November 1789 August 1790 Broken up in Baltimore, 1816. , renamed Montagnard in March 1794, Démocrate on 18 May 1795, then back to Jupiter again on 30 May 1795, and to Batave in December 1797. Brest shipyard 19 August 1787 June 1788 4 November 1789 October 1790 Broken up in Brest, 1807. 23 May 1788 16 December 1789 August 1790 Ran aground, 12 December 1792. Abandoned, and finally sank, 8 June 1793. Lorient shipyard 7 November 1790 Wrecked at the Battle of the Basque Roads on 26 Feb 1809, hull burnt by the British in April. Toulon shipyard 30 July 1790 Captured by the British at Toulon in August 1793, commissioned with a crew of French Royalist rebels under British command, burnt by accident at Livorno on 28 November 1793.Roche, vol.1, p.408 , renamed Révolution on 7 Jan 1793, then Finisterre on 5 Feb 1803. Rochefort shipyard 14 April 1790 Broken up, 1816. , renamed Mont-Blanc in 1793, and Trente-et-un Mai in 1794. Renamed Républicain in 1795, then Mont-Blanc again in 1796. 13 August 1791 Captured by the Royal Navy during the Battle of Cape Ortegal, 4 November 1805. Served as HMS Mont Blanc. Used as a gunpowder hulk from 1811, and sold in 1819. , renamed Redoutable, May 1795. Brest shipyard 31 May 1791 Participated in the Battle of Trafalgar, taken by the British, foundered two days later, 22 October 1805. Lorient shipyard 12 September 1791 Burnt by the Royal Navy at the Siege of Toulon, 18 December 1793.Roche, vol.1, p.435 , renamed Gaulois. 24 Jan 1792 Decommissioned, June 1802. Broken up, 1805. , renamed Cisalpin in 1797, and Aquilon in 1803. Brest 22 July 1793 Grounded and burnt at the Battle of the Basque Roads, April 1809 Toulon shipyard 28 May 1791 Captured at Toulon by the Royal Navy, 29 August 1793. Served as HMS Pompee. Converted to prison hulk at Portsmouth, 1816. Broken up, Jan 1817. Brest 8 May 1793 Captured by the Royal Navy during the Battle of Groix, 23 June 1795. Served as HMS Tigre. Broken up, June 1817. , renamed Desaix in August 1800. Lorient 28 June 1793 Wrecked at Saint-Domingue, Jan 1802. , renamed Pégase in 1795, and Hoche in 1797. Toulon shipyard 23 March 1794 Captured by the Royal Navy on 12 October 1798. Served as HMS Donegal. Broken up, 1845. Lorient shipyard 29 May 1794 Driven ashore by HMS Amazon and Indefatigable and wrecked on 14 Jan 1797. Rochefort 22 Jan 1794 Decommissioned, May 1820. , renamed Marat in 1794, Formidable in May 1795. 29 April 1794 Captured by the Royal Navy at the Battle of Groix, 23 June 1795, served as . Broken up in 1814. Lorient 3 July 1793 8 October 1794 Scrapped, 1808. , renamed Dix-août in 1798, Brave in Feb 1803. 16 Feb 1793 2 May 1795 Captured by during the Battle of San Domingo, 6 Feb 1806. Foundered, 12 April 1806. , renamed Marengo on 2 December 1802. Toulon 21 July 1795 Captured by the Royal Navy in the action of 13 March 1806, and served as HMS Marengo until broken up 1816. , renamed Voltaire in 1795, Constitution in 1795, and Jupiter in 1803. Lorient 28 September 1795 Captured by the Royal Navy during the Battle of San Domingo, 6 Feb 1806, and served as HMS Maida. Sold for breaking up, 1814. 5 October 1797 Captured by during the Battle of the Raz de Sein on 21 April 1798, and served as HMS Hercules. Broken up in December 1810. Toulon 24 November 1797 Captured by the Royal Navy during the Battle of the Nile, 2 August 1798. Served as HMS Spartiate. Broken up, 1857. Lorient 22 December 1798 Exchanged with Spain, 1806. 1 Feb 1798 Destroyed by accidental fire before being commissioned. , launched as Brutus and renamed before completion 31 May 1798 August 1798 24 Jan 1803 March 1803 Beached and set ablaze by the British in the Chesapeake, 14 September 1806. , renamed Diomède in 1803. 1 August 1799 Ran aground and wrecked during the Battle of San Domingo, 6 Feb 1806. Burnt by the Royal Navy, 8 Feb 1806. Rochefort 6 July 1800 Captured by the Royal Navy at Trafalgar on 21 October 1805. Retaken by her crew on 22 October 1805, but sank in a heavy storm the next day. (ii) 24 March 1800 Captured by the Royal Navy in the Battle of Cape Ortegal, 4 November 1805, and served as HMS Implacable. Renamed HMS Foudroyant, 1943. Scuttled, 2 December 1949. 10 May 1801 Captured by Spain at Cadiz, June 1808. (ii) Lorient 29 March 1801 Captured by the Royal Navy at the Battle of Cape Ortegal, 4 November 1805. Served as HMS Scipion until broken up in Jan 1819. Rochefort 18 August 1803 Decommissioned, 1816. 17 November 1804 Sunk at the battle of Trafalgar, 22 October 1805. 12 Jan 1804 Ran aground and burnt, 26 October 1809. Lorient 12 April 1805 Burnt by crew to avoid capture, 7 April 1814. Rochefort 17 June 1806 Decommissioned, 1816.Roche, vol.1, p.29 Lorient 3 Feb 1806 Broken up, 1831. 2 September 1807 Captured by the Royal Navy on 17 April 1809 during Troude's expedition to the Caribbean. Served as HMS Abercrombie. Sold, 1817.
Danube Group (26 ships)