The ''Vengeance'' class was a type of large

sailing frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

s designed by Pierre Degay and built in

Paimbœuf Paimbœuf (; ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France, lying on the south bank of the river Loire upriver from Saint-Nazaire but considerably downriver from Nantes. In the Napoleonic era it was the site of considerab ...

for the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

. Rated at 48 guns, the type was one of the French attempts at increasing the firepower of frigates by mounting a 24-pounder main battery, as was tried with Forfait's . The attempt was unsuccessful, and the ships mounted

18-pounder long gun The 18-pounder long gun was an intermediary calibre piece of naval artillery mounted on warships of the Age of Sail. They were used as main guns on the most typical frigates of the early 19th century, on the second deck of third-rate ships of th ...

s on their main gun deck while in service. Only two ships of the design were built, both being captured by the British and recommissioned in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. * :Builder: Paimbœuf :Begun:June 1793 :Launched: 8 November 1794 :Completed: By April 1795 :Fate: captured on 20 August 1800 by the Royal Navy. Sold in 1814. * :Builder: Paimbœuf :Begun: April 1794 :Launched: 28 November 1795 :Completed: May 1796 :Fate: captured on 9 March 1797 by the Royal Navy. Sold in 1814.

References

{{Reflist, 30em Frigate classes Sailing frigates of the French Navy Ship classes of the French Navy