French Third Rate ship of the line 'L'Indien' (1770)

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L'Indien
Nominal Guns	64	NNF-1715
Nationality	Royaume de France
Operator	Marine Royale
Previously	French Merchant east indiaman 'Le Superbe' (1774) (20) 1774-1774 French 20 Gun Merchant East Indiaman
Purchased	4.1770	NNF-1715
Shipyard	Lorient-Caudan - Lorient	NNF-1715
Ship Class	Indien Class (1767)	NNF-1715
Designed by	Gilles CambryFrench Designer Ship Builder	NNF-1715
Category	Third Rate	NNF-1715
Ship Type	Ship of the Line	NNF-1715
Sailing Rig	Ship Rigged	NNF-1715
Sold	11.1783	NNF-1715

Dimensions

DimensionMeasurementTypeMetric EquivalentNNF-1715
Length of Gundeck157' 6"French Feet (Pied du Roi)50.9964 (167′ 3″ Imperial)
Length of Keel148'French Feet (Pied du Roi)48.0749 (157′ 8″ Imperial)
Breadth40' 6"French Feet (Pied du Roi)13.1544 (43′ 1″ Imperial)
Depth in Hold17' 6"French Feet (Pied du Roi)5.5448 (18′ 2″ Imperial)
Burthen1,242Ton

Armament

4.1770Broadside Weight = 510 French Livre (550.392 lbs 249.645 kg)NNF-1715
Lower Gun Deck26 French 24-Pounder
Upper Gun Deck28 French 12-Pounder
Quarterdeck/Forecastle10 French 6-Pounder

Crew Complement

Date# of MenNotesSource
4.17705699 officers, 560 menNNF-1715

2 Ship Commanders

DatesRankNameSource
27.11.1771 - 1773Capitaine de Vaisseauref:12751778Capitaine de Vaisseauref:631

1 Commissioned Officer

DatesRankNameSource
18.1.1780 - 11.2.1780Lieutenant d’Artillerie† Discharged Deadref:1275

Service History

DateEventSource
27.7.17781st Battle of Ushant
17.4.1780Battle of Martinique
12.12.17812nd Battle of Ushant
20.10.1782Battle of Cape Spartel
11.1783Condemned at ToulonNNF-1715

Sources

IDNameAuthorType

NNF-1715Alain Demerliac, Book

ref:1275 Web Site

ref:631 Web Site

Previous comments on this page

Posted by Jason M Archer on Friday 17th of December 2021 06:22

This is actually the 'Le Superbe', bought in 1774 and sold to Austria in 1779.

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Recent comments to other pages

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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