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
Thursday 4th of June 2026 20:01	James Daschuk	British steam sloop 'Devastation' (1841) (6) 1841-1866 British 6 Gun Unrated Steam Sloop
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Wednesday 3rd of June 2026 19:26	Jon Miller	British Sixth Rate frigate 'Seahorse' (1748) (24) 1748-1784 British 24 Gun 6th Rate Frigate

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