Centaure-class ship of the line

The Centaure class was a class of 74-gun ships of the line of the French Navy, comprising four ships, all of which built at Toulon Dockyard to a design dated 28 March 1782 by Joseph-Marie-Blaise Coulomb in the year following the close of the American Revolutionary War. The first pair were ordered on 15 February 1782, and were named on 13 April. After the first two ships were begun, the design was amended for the second pair (which were 5¼ feet longer, and also had slightly less breadth and depth in hold) – which are accordingly often described as the Séduisant-class ship of the line. This second pair were ordered on 1 June 1782 and named on 21 August. All four ships were destroyed or captured by the British Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary War.

Ships in class
Source:


 * Centaure
 * Builder: Toulon
 * Ordered: 15 February 1782
 * Begun: 12 May 1782
 * Launched: 7 November 1782
 * Completed: December 1782
 * Fate: Burnt by the British Navy during the evacuation of Toulon on 18 December 1793.


 * Heureux
 * Builder: Toulon
 * Ordered: 15 February 1782
 * Begun: 12 May 1782
 * Launched: 19 December 1782
 * Completed: April 1783
 * Fate: Burnt by the British after the Battle of the Nile, 2 August 1798.


 * Séduisant
 * Builder: Toulon
 * Ordered: 1 June 1782
 * Begun: August 1782
 * Launched: 5 July 1783
 * Completed: 1783
 * Fate: Wrecked while sailing from Brest, 16 December 1796


 * Mercure
 * Builder: Toulon
 * Ordered: 1 June 1782
 * Begun: August 1782
 * Launched: 4 August 1783
 * Completed: 1783
 * Fate: Burnt by the British after the Battle of the Nile, 2 August 1798