Virginie fighting HMS Indefatigable
Class overview
Name	Virginie
Builders	Toulon
Operators	French Navy  Royal Navy
Preceded by	Seine class
Succeeded by	Preneuse class
Completed	10
Cancelled	1
General characteristics
Type	Frigate
Displacement	1,400 tonnes
Tons burthen	1,090
Length	47.4 m (155 ft 6 in)
Beam	11.9 m (39 ft 1 in)
Draught	5.5 m (18 ft 1 in)
Propulsion	Sail
Armament	40 guns {though pierced for 44 guns}
Armour	Timber

The Virginie class was a class of ten 40-gun frigates of the French Navy, designed in 1793 by Jacques-Noël Sané. An eleventh vessel (Zephyr) begun in 1794 was never completed.

• Virginie

Builder: Brest

Begun: November 1793

Launched: 26 July 1794

Completed: December 1794

Fate: Captured by the British Navy on 22 April 1796, becoming HMS Virginie.

• Courageuse

Builder: Brest

Begun: December 1793

Launched: early August 1794

Completed: December 1794

Fate: Renamed Justice April 1795. Captured by the British Navy in September 1801, but not added to Royal Navy; instead, handed over to the Turkish Navy.

• Harmonie

Builder: Bordeaux

Begun: May 1794

Launched: early 1796

Completed: May 1796

Fate: Beached and burnt to avoid capture by the British Navy in April 1797.

• Volontaire

Builder: Bordeaux

Begun: September 1794

Launched: 7 June 1796

Completed: 1796

Fate: Captured by the British Navy on 4 March 1806, becoming HMS Volontaire.

• Cornélie

Builder: Brest

Begun: March 1794

Launched: 19 September 1796

Completed: April 1798

Fate: Captured by the Spanish Navy in June 1808, becoming Spanish Cornelia.

• Zéphyr

Builder: Brest

Begun: March 1794

Fate: Construction abandoned in April 1804 (never launched).

• Didon

Builder: Saint Malo

Begun: September 1796

Launched: 1 August 1799

Completed: September 1800

Fate: Captured by the British Navy on 10 August 1805, becoming HMS Didon.

• Atalante

Builder: Saint Malo

Begun: September 1799

Launched: 29 June 1802

Completed: July 1802

Fate: Wrecked in November 1805.

• Rhin

Builder: Toulon

Begun: June 1801

Launched: 15 April 1802

Completed: October 1802

Fate: Captured by the British Navy on 27 July 1806, becoming HMS Rhin.

• Belle Poule

Builder: Basse-Indre

Begun: June 1801

Launched: 17 April 1802

Completed: September 1802

Fate: Captured by the British Navy on 13 March 1806, becoming HMS Belle Poule.

• Surveillante

Builder: Basse-Indre

Begun: July 1801

Launched: 29 May 1802

Completed: December 1802

Fate: Captured by the British Navy on 30 November 1803, becoming HMS Surveillante.

References

• Rif Winfield, British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1793-1817, Seaforth Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-1-84415-717-4.
• Winfield, Rif; Roberts, Stephen S (2015). French Warships in the Age of Sail, 1786-1861. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-040-6.