Talk:French ship Franklin (1797)

Rate
The latest edit is interesting, I wonder whether there were different rates in the French Navy at the time... I think that there was typically an emphasise on manoeuverability over firepower, so they tended to be smaller on average (the French were quite obsessed with the 74-gun...).

I need to find a big, authoritative book on the subject ! :p Rama 11:19, 16 August 2005 (UTC)

Do we know the date of her launch and where she was built? Drutt (talk) 16:07, 11 March 2010 (UTC)

French ship Franklin (1797) The "Franklin" was a French "Tonnant" class 80-gun ship of the line designed by engineer Jacques-Noël Sané, and named after the American scientist and politician Benjamin Franklin.

Captain M. Gilet commanded the "Franklin" on the French side in the Battle of the Nile (1798), carrying rear admiral Armand Blanquet du Chayla, second-in-command of the French fleet. During the battle, the opposing British fleet led by rear admiral Horatio Nelson captured the "Franklin" as a prize, and the British admiralty recommissioned her in the Royal Navy as HMS "Canopus".

While under the command of Francis Austen, brother to novelist Jane Austen, the "Canopus" was temporarily absent from the fleet in October 1805 on convoy duty in the Mediterranean, and missed participating in the Battle of Trafalgar. However, in 1806, still under Austen's command, "Canopus" led the British lee line in the Battle of San Domingo, where her crew suffered 8 dead and 22 wounded. She later served as the flagship of Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Louis during Dardanelles Operation in 1807. [p.49, Howard]

From 1863 she was used for harbour duty, and was sold for scrap in October 1887.

Citations and notes

References


 * Howard, Edward, "Memoires of Admiral Sir Sidney Smith, K.C. B., & c., Volume 2," Adamant Media Corporation, 2003 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.66.68.49 (talk) 16:35, 13 December 2017 (UTC)