Famous Ships and Boats in History

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French Ships with Sails

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Boudeuse — French frigate
First woman to circumnavigate the globe on board, Jeanne Baret, disguised as man. She is also famous as the exploration ship of Louis Antoine de Bougainville, 1766-1769. ("Another IMAGE" is the commemorative stamp issued.) LAUNCHED: 1766, March 18 → FATE: Broken up for firewood at Malta in early 1800.

Etoile du Roy — British frigate, sixth-rate
Stand-in for several different ships for the British TV series Horatio Hornblower, 1998-2003. The three-masted frigate was built specifically to represent a generic Nelson-age warship, with her design inspired by HMS Blandford built in 1741. LAUNCHED: 1997, September → FATE: Sold to a French company and now on exhibit at Saint-Malo, Brittany.

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Frigorifique — French steamship
First to carry frozen meat across the ocean; from Argentina to France. The first commercially successful shipment of frozen meat that launched the industry was by the steamship Dunedin from New Zealand to England in 1882. LAUNCHED: 1876 → FATE: Sank after a collision with British coal freighter Rumney along the coast of France in March of 1884.

Gloire — French ocean-going ironclad
First ocean-going ironclad, developed in response to navel gun technology, including the Paixhans gun, thus rendering obsolete traditional unarmoured wooden ships-of-the-line. She was constructed with light barquentine sails as well as a steam-powered screw. LAUNCHED: 1859, November 18 → FATE: Scrapped in 1883.

L'Hydroptère — French speed sailboat; experimental
Currently the world's fastest sailboat. In 2008, it reached a sailing speed of 56.3 knots, the first sailboat to ever pass 100 km/h. LAUNCHED: 2008 → FATE: Still sailing.

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La Belle — French barque
Explorer Robert De La Salle's flagship in the 1680s; its wreckage recovered in the late 1990s was an important maritime archaeological achievement. Discovered in 1995, the hull of the ship was recovered with over a million artifacts, many on display at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin, Texas. LAUNCHED: 1684, probably → FATE: Washed aground and wrecked in Matagorda Bay in the Gulf of Mexico in 1686.

La Gloire — French battleship, steamer
The first ocean-going ironclad battleship in history. The ship initiated the obsolescence of traditional unarmored wooden ships-of-the-line. LAUNCHED: 1859, November → FATE: Scrapped in 1883.

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Medusa — French frigate
Most famous sea disaster of the nineteenth century. After hitting a shoal, most of the 400 passengers were evacuated while 151 men took refuge on an improvised raft. After 13 days at sea, the raft was discovered with only 15 men still alive. The raft carrying people was the subject of a famous painting, The Raft of the Medusa by French artist Théodore Géricault. LAUNCHED: 1810 → FATE: Beached on Bank of Arguin in 1817.

Napoléon, (Le) — French battleship, ship of the line
First true steam and screw battleship in the world. She was the lead ship of a class of 9 battleships, all considered as very successful and built over a period of 10 years. LAUNCHED: 1850, May 18 → FATE: Sunk November 6, 1876.

Rochambeau — American frigate, ironclad
The longest wooden ship ever built. When the French thought Otto von Bismarck might be interested in the ship, they hurriedly bought her from the Americans and commission her in 1867. LAUNCHED: 1862, July 22 as Dunderberg → FATE: The French scrapped her in 1874.

Ville de Paris — French ship of the line, large three-decker
The flagship of the Comte de Grasse during the American Revolutionary War and the Siege of Yorktown. A ship of the line of the Royal Navy was named after her, HMS Ville de Paris, and launched in 1795. LAUNCHED: 1764 → FATE: Sank in September 1782 with other ships in a Central Atlantic hurricane.

The number of French Ships with Sails listed is 11

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For a full list of all ships, select HERE

First Ship on each page
Page	Ship Name (Country and Type)
1.	Etoile du Roy (British frigate)
2.	Medusa (French frigate)

French Ships with Sails
1.	Etoile du Roy British frigate
2.	Frigorifique French steamship
3.	Gloire French ocean-going ironclad
4.	L'Hydroptère French speed sailboat
5.	La Belle French barque
6.	La Gloire French battleship
7.	Medusa French frigate
8.	Napoléon, (Le) French battleship
9.	Rochambeau American frigate
10.	Ville de Paris French ship of the line

Famous Ships and Boats

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French Ships with Sails