French ship Couronne (1636)

Couronne (French for "crown") was an emblematic ship of the French Navy built by order of Richelieu.

Couronn. Frontispiece of Hydrographie by Georges Fournier, 1643.
History
French Navy EnsignKingdom of France
Builder
Laid down1629
Launched1632 or 1633
Commissioned1636
Decommissioned1645
In service1635
Out of service1645
FateBroken up
General characteristics
Tonnage1,500
Length165 French feet overall[a](excludes 10 metre-long bowsprit) 120 French feet keel 53.5 meters
Beam44 French feet 14.3 meters
Depth of hold16 feet 5.2 meters
Decks2 gun decks
Complement500, + 9 officers; later 643 men
Armament
ArmourTimber

The Couronne was the first major warship to be designed and built by the French themselves in accordance with Richelieu's plans to renew the French Navy, after a series of warships had been built by the Dutch. The construction was supervised by Isaac de Launay Razilly (died in Arcadia 1635),[1] and overseen by the famous carpenter Charles Morieu, from Dieppe. She was being constructed at La Roche-Bernard and was one of the most advanced units of her time. After launch in 1632 or 1633, she was moved to Brouage in September 1634 where she was completed around 1635 by Mathieu Casteau. She carried up to 72 heavy guns, most on her two-deck broadsaide but also 8 firing forwards from the bow and 8 firing aft, an unusual feature until Dupuy de Lôme redesigned naval artillery.

Couronne took part in the Battle of Guetaria on 22 August 1638, and another expedition to Spain in 1639 under Henri de Sourdis.

The ship was disarmed in 1641 and broken up between 1643–1645.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The French (pre-metric) foot was 6.575% longer than the equivalent English foot.

Citations

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  1. ^ Instruction sheet for "La Couronne", Heller Model Company

References

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  • Nomenclature des Vaisseaux de Louis XIII et de la régence d'Anne d'Autriche, 1610 a 1661. Alain Demerliac (Editions Omega, Nice – 2004).
  • 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.