Surveillante-class frigate

The Surveillante class was a type of sixty-gun frigate of the French Navy, designed in 1823 by Mathurin-François Boucher.

One of the main innovations with respect to previous design was the disappearance of the gangways, which provided a flush deck capable of harbouring a complete second battery. With the standardisation on the 30-pounder calibre for all naval ordnance that occurred in the 1820s, this design allowed for a frigate throwing a 900-pound broadside, thrice the firepower of the 40-gun Pallas-class frigate that constituted the majority of the frigate forces during the Empire, and comparable to that of a 74-gun.

By far the best-known ship of the class is FRENCH SHIP Belle Poule, which achieved fame when she transported the ashes of Napoléon back to France in the so-called Retour des cendres; for this occasion, she was painted all black, a colour scheme that she retained later in her career, but which is uncharacteristic of the ships of this type.


 * FRENCH FRIGATE Surveillante
 * Builder: Lorient
 * Begun:
 * Launched: 29 September 1825
 * Completed:
 * Fate: deleted 22 August 1844.


 * FRENCH FRIGATE Belle Gabrielle
 * Builder: Cherbourg
 * Begun:
 * Launched: 28 June 1828
 * Completed:
 * Fate: renamed Indépendante 9 August 1830, deleted 24 October 1860.


 * FRENCH FRIGATE Melpomène
 * Builder: Cherbourg
 * Begun:
 * Launched: 28 July 1828
 * Completed:
 * Fate: deleted 20 March 1845.


 * FRENCH FRIGATE Herminie
 * Builder: Lorient
 * Begun:
 * Launched: 25 August 1828
 * Completed:
 * Fate: wrecked off Bermuda 3 December 1838.


 * FRENCH SHIP Belle Poule
 * Builder: Cherbourg
 * Begun:
 * Launched: 26 March 1834
 * Completed:
 * Fate: deleted 19 March 1861.


 * FRENCH FRIGATE Sémillante
 * Builder: Lorient
 * Begun:
 * Launched: 6 February 1841
 * Completed:
 * Fate: wrecked 16 February 1855 off Bonifacio.


 * FRENCH FRIGATE Andromaque
 * Builder: Lorient
 * Begun:
 * Launched: 8 March 1841
 * Completed:
 * Fate: deleted 17 August 1869.


 * FRENCH FRIGATE Forte
 * Builder: Cherbourg
 * Begun:
 * Launched: 16 September 1841
 * Completed:
 * Fate: deleted 23 October 1883.


 * FRENCH FRIGATE Pallas
 * Builder: Lorient
 * Begun:
 * Launched: 15 August 1860
 * Completed:
 * Fate: hulked 23 October 1883