Surveillante-class frigate

The Surveillante class was a type of sixty-gun frigate of the French Navy, designed in 1823 by Mathurin-François Boucher.[1]

Model showing characteristics and original painting scheme of Belle Poule.
Class overview
Name: Surveillante
Operators:  French Navy
Preceded by: Romaine class
Succeeded by:
Completed: 9
General characteristics
Class and type: Surveillante-class frigate
Displacement: 2500 tonnes
Length: 54 metres (177 ft)
Beam: 14.10 metres (46.3 ft)
Draught: 3.80 metres (12.5 ft)
Propulsion: sail
Complement: 301
Armament:
Armour: Timber

One of the main innovations with respect to previous design was the disappearance of the gangways, which provided a flush deck capable of harbouring a complete second battery. With the standardisation on the 30-pounder calibre for all naval ordnance that occurred in the 1820s, this design allowed for a frigate throwing a 900-pound broadside, thrice the firepower of the 40-gun Pallas class that constituted the majority of the frigate forces during the Empire, and comparable to that of a 74-gun.

By far the best-known ship of the class is Belle Poule, which achieved fame when she transported the ashes of Napoléon back to France in the so-called Retour des cendres; for this occasion, she was painted all black, a colour scheme that she retained later in her career, but which is uncharacteristic of the ships of this type.

  • Surveillante[2]
Builder: Lorient
Begun:
Launched: 29 September 1825
Completed:
Fate: deleted 22 August 1844.
  • Belle Gabrielle[3]
Builder: Cherbourg
Begun:
Launched: 28 June 1828
Completed:
Fate: renamed Indépendante 9 August 1830, deleted 24 October 1860.
Builder: Cherbourg
Begun:
Launched: 28 July 1828
Completed:
Fate: deleted 20 March 1845.
Builder: Lorient
Begun:
Launched: 25 August 1828
Completed:
Fate: wrecked off Bermuda 3 December 1838.
Builder: Cherbourg
Begun:
Launched: 26 March 1834
Completed:
Fate: deleted 19 March 1861.
Builder: Lorient
Begun:
Launched: 6 February 1841
Completed:
Fate: wrecked 16 February 1855 off Bonifacio.
Builder: Lorient
Begun:
Launched: 8 March 1841
Completed:
Fate: deleted 17 August 1869.
Builder: Cherbourg
Begun:
Launched: 16 September 1841
Completed:
Fate: deleted 23 October 1883.
Builder: Lorient
Begun:
Launched: 15 August 1860
Completed:
Fate: hulked 23 October 1883

Sources and references

References
  1. Maquette de bateau, Belle Poule, frégate de 1er rang, 1834, Musée national de la Marine
  2. Roche, p. 428
  3. Roche, p. 69
  4. Roche, p. 304
  5. Roche, p. 241
  6. Roche, p. 70
  7. Roche, p. 410
  8. Roche, p. 41
  9. Roche, p. 208
  10. Roche, p. 339

Sources
  • Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours, 1671 - 1870. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.
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