Famous Ships and Boats

In history, movies, books, on exhibit

War ships, ship tragedies, steam ships, yachts, and more

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French Ships and Boats

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Boudeuse — French frigate
First woman to circumnavigate the globe on board, Jeanne Baret, disguised as man. She is also famous as the exploration ship of Louis Antoine de Bougainville, 1766-1769. ("Another IMAGE" is the commemorative stamp issued.) LAUNCHED: 1766, March 18 → FATE: Broken up for firewood at Malta in early 1800.

Etoile du Roy — British frigate, sixth-rate
Stand-in for several different ships for the British TV series Horatio Hornblower, 1998-2003. The three-masted frigate was built specifically to represent a generic Nelson-age warship, with her design inspired by HMS Blandford built in 1741. LAUNCHED: 1997, September → FATE: Sold to a French company and now on exhibit at Saint-Malo, Brittany.

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Frigorifique — French steamship
First to carry frozen meat across the ocean; from Argentina to France. The first commercially successful shipment of frozen meat that launched the industry was by the steamship Dunedin from New Zealand to England in 1882. LAUNCHED: 1876 → FATE: Sank after a collision with British coal freighter Rumney along the coast of France in March of 1884.

Gloire — French ocean-going ironclad
First ocean-going ironclad, developed in response to navel gun technology, including the Paixhans gun, thus rendering obsolete traditional unarmoured wooden ships-of-the-line. She was constructed with light barquentine sails as well as a steam-powered screw. LAUNCHED: 1859, November 18 → FATE: Scrapped in 1883.

Henrietta — French steamboat
Fiction steam boat in the movie Around the World in 80 Days. In the movie, the boat is stripped clean in order to fuel her across the ocean. LAUNCHED: 1956, movie release → FATE: Inconclusive.

Ile de France, SS — French ocean liner
Used as a floating prop for 1960 movie The Last Voyage with the name SS Claridon. She was the first major transatlantic ocean liner to be decorated entirely in the Art Deco style. LAUNCHED: 1926, March 18 → FATE: Scrapped at Osaka, Japan in 1959.

L'Hydroptère — French speed sailboat; experimental
Currently the world's fastest sailboat. In 2008, it reached a sailing speed of 56.3 knots, the first sailboat to ever pass 100 km/h. LAUNCHED: 2008 → FATE: Still sailing.

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La Belle — French barque
Explorer Robert De La Salle's flagship in the 1680s; its wreckage recovered in the late 1990s was an important maritime archaeological achievement. Discovered in 1995, the hull of the ship was recovered with over a million artifacts, many on display at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin, Texas. LAUNCHED: 1684, probably → FATE: Washed aground and wrecked in Matagorda Bay in the Gulf of Mexico in 1686.

La Gloire — French battleship, steamer
The first ocean-going ironclad battleship in history. The ship initiated the obsolescence of traditional unarmored wooden ships-of-the-line. LAUNCHED: 1859, November → FATE: Scrapped in 1883.

Liberté, SS — German ocean liner; then American war prize; then French owned
Featured prominently in the movie The French Line, starring Jane Russell. She was taken as a US war prize at the end of World War II, then used to transport US servicemen back to the states, and finally turned over to the French as war reparations. LAUNCHED: 1928, August 18 → FATE: Retired in 1961 and scrapped in 1962.

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Medusa — French frigate
Most famous sea disaster of the nineteenth century. After hitting a shoal, most of the 400 passengers were evacuated while 151 men took refuge on an improvised raft. After 13 days at sea, the raft was discovered with only 15 men still alive. The raft carrying people was the subject of a famous painting, The Raft of the Medusa by French artist Théodore Géricault. LAUNCHED: 1810 → FATE: Beached on Bank of Arguin in 1817.

Mont Blanc, SS — French cargo ship, freighter
The worst human-made disaster in Canadian history and was the world's largest human-made blast until the detonation of an atomic bomb in 1945, and known as Halifax Harbor. The collision with the Norwegian steamship SS Imo caused her ammunition cargo to exploded in Halifax Harbor, resulting ing 2000 killed, 9000 injuried, 13,630 homes wrecked, and 6000 left homeless LAUNCHED: 1899 → FATE: Blown to pieces December 6, 1917, after the collision.

Napoléon, (Le) — French battleship, ship of the line
First true steam and screw battleship in the world. She was the lead ship of a class of 9 battleships, all considered as very successful and built over a period of 10 years. LAUNCHED: 1850, May 18 → FATE: Sunk November 6, 1876.

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Normandie, SS — French ocean liner
Largest, fastest and most powerful passenger ship ever built. Considered one of the greatest ocean liners in history, her Art Deco motif was so splendid she was known as the "Ship of Light" just as Paris was the "City of Light". LAUNCHED: 1935, October 29 → FATE: Caught fire and capsized in February 1942; scrapped October, 1946.

Orient — French ship of the line
Famous for her role as flagship of the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile, 1798. During the battle, she caught fire and exploded, with an estimated loss of over 1,130 men; 760 are said to have survived. LAUNCHED: 1791, July 20 → FATE: She was destroyed by an explosion, August 1798.

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Rochambeau — American frigate, ironclad
The longest wooden ship ever built. When the French thought Otto von Bismarck might be interested in the ship, they hurriedly bought her from the Americans and commission her in 1867. LAUNCHED: 1862, July 22 as Dunderberg → FATE: The French scrapped her in 1874.

Salem Express, MV — French roll-on/roll/off car ferry
She sank after colliding with reefs while carrying hundreds of Egyptian pilgrims. More than 500 passengers and crew were lost. The sunken wreck is in good condition although coral covers much of the ship. The wreck still contains cars and luggage. LAUNCHED: 1966 → FATE: Sank after collision on the Egyptian coast December 17, 1991.

Ville de Paris — French ship of the line, large three-decker
The flagship of the Comte de Grasse during the American Revolutionary War and the Siege of Yorktown. A ship of the line of the Royal Navy was named after her, HMS Ville de Paris, and launched in 1795. LAUNCHED: 1764 → FATE: Sank in September 1782 with other ships in a Central Atlantic hurricane.

The number of French Ships and Boats listed is 18

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For a full list of all ships, select HERE

First Ship on each page
Page	Ship Name (Country and Type)
1.	Etoile du Roy (British frigate)
2.	La Belle (French barque)
3.	Rochambeau (American frigate)

French Ships and Boats
1.	Etoile du Roy British frigate
2.	Frigorifique French steamship
3.	Gloire French ocean-going ironclad
4.	Henrietta French steamboat
5.	Ile de France, SS French ocean liner
6.	L'Hydroptère French speed sailboat
7.	La Belle French barque
8.	La Gloire French battleship
9.	Liberté, SS German ocean liner
10.	Medusa French frigate
11.	Mont Blanc, SS French cargo ship
12.	Napoléon, (Le) French battleship
13.	Normandie, SS French ocean liner
14.	Orient French ship of the line
15.	Rochambeau American frigate
16.	Salem Express, MV French roll-on/roll/off car ferry
17.	Ville de Paris French ship of the line