French ship Annibal (1779)

The Annibal was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. She was designed by Jacques-Noël Sané, and was one of the earliest of his works. She was built at Brest in 1778.

She sailed out to the West Indies and took part in the Battle of Grenada under Lamotte-Picquet.

She was then sent out to the East Indies with Suffren and fought at the battles of Porto Praya, Sadras, Providien, Negapatam and Trincomalee in 1782. The following year she fought at the battle of Cuddalore.

She was renamed Achille in 1786 to prevent confusion with the Petit Annibal.

She served with the French Navy until 1794, when she was captured by the Royal Navy during the battle of the Glorious First of June. She was commissioned into the Royal Navy as the third-rate HMS Achille, retaining the French spelling of the name. However, she was in a poor state and was broken up at Plymouth in 1796, just two years after her capture.

Some accounts say she fought at the Battle of Trafalgar, but these writers have mistaken her for her namesake HMS Achille (1798), a new ship built at Gravesend.