French ship Royal Louis (1692)

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Royal Louis.

The Royal Louis was a First Rank ship of the line of the French Royal Navy, designed and constructed by François Coulomb. She replaced an earlier ship of the same name.

Contemporary model of the Royal Louis, on display at the Musée de la Marine
History
France
Namesake	Louis XIV of France
Builder	François Coulomb, Toulon Dockyard
Laid down	9 April 1692
Launched	22 September 1692
Completed	May 1693
Out of service	1723
Stricken	1723
Fate	Broken up 1727
General characteristics
Class and type	First Rank ship of the line
Tonnage	2600
Displacement	3928 French tons
Length	174 French feet
Beam	48 French feet (15.59 m)
Draught	21 - 26 French feet (6.82 - 8.45 m)
Depth of hold	23 French feet (7.47 m)
Complement	1,050 in wartime; 990 in peacetime
Armament	120 guns 30 48-pounder long guns on lower deck 32 18-pounder long guns on middle deck 28 12-pounder long guns on upper deck 16 6-pounder long guns on quarterdeck and forecastle 4 4-pounder long guns on poop
Armour	timber

Following completion in 1693, the 48-pounder guns on her lower deck were replaced by 36-pounders. She initially had 6-pounder guns, later replaced by 8-pounders, and 4-pounders, replaced by 6-pounders.

Brest Dockyard noted in 1715 that she was usable only in summertime and her upperworks were beginning to rot. She was condemned in 1723 at Brest and broken up there in 1727.

References

• Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours 1 1671 - 1870. p. 223. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.
• Nomenclature des Vaisseaux du Roi-Soleil de 1661 a 1715. Alain Demerliac (Editions Omega, Nice – various dates).
• The Sun King's Vessels (2015) – Jean-Claude Lemineur; English translation by François Fougerat. Editions ANCRE. ISBN 978-2903179885
• Winfield, Rif and Roberts, Stephen (2017) French Warships in the Age of Sail 1626-1786: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4738-9351-1.