French Third Rate ship of the line 'L'Illustre' (1781)

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L'Illustre
Nominal Guns	74	W033
Nationality	Royaume de France
Operator	Marine Royale
Launched	23.2.1781	E-WIKI
How acquired	Purpose built	E-WIKI
Shipyard	Rochefort - Aunis	W033
Designed by	Jacques Denis Chevillard le CadetFrench Designer Ship Builder Service 1777-1778	W033
Category	Third Rate	W033
National Rate	Premier Rang	W033
Ship Type	Ship of the Line	W033
Sailing Rig	Ship Rigged	W033
Razeed	1794	W033
Becomes	French Fourth Rate frigate 'La Scévola' (1794) (54) 1794-1796 French 54 Gun 4th Rate Frigate

Dimensions

DimensionMeasurementTypeMetric EquivalentW033
Length of Gundeck160' 6"French Feet (Pied du Roi)51.9707 (170′ 6″ Imperial)
Breadth40' 0"French Feet (Pied du Roi)12.992 (42′ 7″ Imperial)
Depth in Hold20' 6"French Feet (Pied du Roi)6.6584 (21′ 10″ Imperial)

Armament

2.1781Broadside Weight = 838 French Livre (904.3696 lbs 410.201 kg)W033
Lower Gun Deck28 French 36-Pounder
Upper Gun Deck30 French 18-Pounder
Quarterdeck/Forecastle16 French 8-Pounder

1 Ship Commander

DatesRankNameSource
1788 - 23.7.1790Capitaine de Vaisseau†ref:631

1 Commissioned Officer

DatesRankNameSource
1783Lieutenant de Vaisseau, rank no date†ref:631

Service History

DateEventSource
3.9.1782Battle of Trincomalee
20.6.17832nd Battle of Cuddalore

Sources

IDNameAuthorType

E-WIKIVarious, Web Site

W033Ronald Deschenes, Web Site

ref:631 Web Site

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Date posted	By	Page
Friday 24th of July 2026 08:52	Jon Miller	Philip AffleckBritish Naval Sailor Service 1743-1799
Friday 24th of July 2026 08:41	Jon Miller	George SarradineBritish Naval Sailor Service 1794-1802
Friday 24th of July 2026 08:28	Jon Miller	British Other Vessels discovery vessel 'Discovery' (1789) (10) 1789-1834 British 10 Gun Other Discovery Vessel
Friday 24th of July 2026 08:15	Jon Miller	Mark RobinsonBritish Naval Sailor Service 1740-1787
Friday 24th of July 2026 06:56	Jon Miller	British Fifth Rate frigate 'Ethalion' (1797) (38) 1797-1799 British 38 Gun 5th Rate Frigate

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