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 . This second pair were ordered on 1 June 1782 and named on 21 August. All four ships were destroyed by the Royal Navy or wrecked during the French Revolutionary Wars.
Ships in class
Source:Winfield & Roberts 2015, p. 87
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
References
Demerliac, Cmdt. Alain, Nomenclature des navires français de 1774 a 1792. Editions ANCRE, Nice. Winfield, Rif and Roberts, Stephen S. (2017) French Warships in the Age of Sail 1626–1786: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates.. Seaforth Publishing, 2017. . Winfield, Rif and Roberts, Stephen S. (2015) French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786-1861: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. .