French Fourth Rate ship of the line 'L'Africain' (1701)

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Lord Richard Howe (1^st Earl Howe)British
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Marine
Service 1736-1799
Richard HillBritish
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Service 1778-1791
Grampus (54) 1795-1799
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4th Rate Ship of the Line
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L'Africain
Nominal Guns	42	NNF-1715
Nationality	Royaume de France
Operator	Marine Royale
Purchased	1701	NNF-1715
Shipyard	England - Great Britain	NNF-1715
Category	Fourth Rate	NNF-1715
National Rate	Troisième Rang	NNF-1715
Ship Type	Ship of the Line	NNF-1715
Sailing Rig	Ship Rigged	NNF-1715
Broken Up	1723	NNF-1715

Dimensions

DimensionMeasurementTypeMetric EquivalentNNF-1715
Length of Gundeck113' 6"French Feet (Pied du Roi)36.7149 (120′ 5″ Imperial)
Breadth30'French Feet (Pied du Roi)9.744 (31′ 11″ Imperial)
Depth in Hold10' 9"French Feet (Pied du Roi)3.4916 (11′ 5″ Imperial)
Burthen460Ton

Armament

1701Broadside Weight = 192 French Livre (207.2064 lbs 93.984 kg)NNF-1715
Lower Gun Deck22 French 12-Pounder
Upper Gun Deck20 French 6-Pounder

Crew Complement

Date# of MenNotesSource
17012266 officers, 220 menNNF-1715

2 Petty Officers

DatesRatingNameSource
1710Garde de la Marineref:6731716 - 1717Garde de la Marineref:673

Service History

DateEventSource
1701

Sold by the French South Sea's company (la Compagnie des Mers du Sud)

W033

Sources

IDNameAuthorType

NNF-1715Alain Demerliac, Book

W033Ronald Deschenes, Web Site

ref:673 Web Site

Previous comments on this page

Posted by Cy on Sunday 26th of December 2021 22:03

Look at the Rates page, although this is an edge case.

Posted by Stephen L'africain on Sunday 26th of December 2021 17:44

what is the definition of "Fourth Rate" in reference to a ship?

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Recent comments to other pages

Date posted	By	Page
Tuesday 16th of June 2026 16:00	Jon Miller	Lord Richard Howe (1^st Earl Howe)British Naval Sailor Marine Service 1736-1799
Tuesday 16th of June 2026 15:41	Jon Miller	Richard HillBritish Naval Sailor Service 1778-1791
Tuesday 16th of June 2026 15:37	Jon Miller	British Fourth Rate ship of the line 'Grampus' (1795) (54) 1795-1799 British 54 Gun 4th Rate Ship of the Line
Tuesday 16th of June 2026 15:36	Jon Miller	British Merchant east indiaman 'Earl Fitzwilliam' (1786) (26) 1786-1799 British 26 Gun Merchant East Indiaman
Tuesday 16th of June 2026 15:32	Jon Miller	British Third Rate ship of the line 'Theseus' (1786) (74) 1786-1814 British 74 Gun 3rd Rate Ship of the Line

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