Annibal-class ship of the line

The Annibal class was a class of two 74-gun ships of the French Navy. The type was one of the first achievements of Jacques-Noël Sané. His first design - on 24 November 1777 - was for a ship of 166 pieds (176 feet 11 inches) length, but he produced an amended design on 10 January 1779 for the Annibal, and a further amended design on 3 March 1780 for her near-sister Northumberland. Both ships were captured during the Fourth Battle of Ushant ("Bataille du 13 prairial an II" or "Glorious First of June") on 1 June 1794 off Ushant, and were added to but never commissioned into the British Navy.

• Annibal

Class overview
Name	Annibal
Builders	Brest
Operators	French Navy Royal Navy
In commission	January 1779 - 1794
Completed	2
General characteristics
Type	ship of the line
Tonnage	1,478
Displacement	2,939 tons (Annibal) 2,965 tons (Northumberland)
Length	54.57 m (179.0 ft) (Annibal) 54.90 m (180.1 ft) (Northumberland)
Beam	14.29 m (46.9 ft)
Draught	7.2 m (24 ft)
Propulsion	Sail
Armament	74 to 78 guns
Notes	Ships in class include: Annibal, Northumberland

Builder: Brest Dockyard

Ordered: 20 February 1778

Launched: 5 October 1778

Fate: Captured by the Royal Navy on 1 June 1794 and renamed HMS Achille, but broken up at Plymouth in February 1796.

• Northumberland

Builder: Brest Dockyard

Ordered:

Launched: 3 May 1780

Fate: Captured by the Royal Navy on 1 June 1794 and named HMS Northumberland, but broken up at Plymouth in November 1795.

References

• Winfield, Rif and Roberts, Stephen S. (2017) French Warships in the Age of Sail 1626–1786: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates.. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4738-9351-1.
• Winfield, Rif and Roberts, Stephen S. (2015) French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786-1861: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-204-2.