Seventy-four (ship)

The "seventy-four" was a type of two-decked sailing ship of the line nominally carrying 74 guns. Originally developed by the French Navy in the mid-18th century, the design proved to be a good balance between firepower and sailing qualities, and was adopted by the British Royal Navy (where the ships were classed as third rates), as well as other navies. Seventy-fours were a mainstay of the world's fleets into the early decades of the 19th century, when they were supplanted by improved construction techniques allowing larger vessels and by the introduction of steam power.

First 74-gun designs
The classic 74-gun ship was invented by the French as they rebuilt their navy during the early years of the reign of Louis XV. The new ship type was a very large two-decker big enough to carry the largest common type of gun (36-pounders) on the lower gun deck, something only three-deckers had done earlier. This great firepower was combined with very good sailing qualities compared to both the taller three-deckers and the shorter old-style 70-gun two-deckers, making the 74 the perfect combination of the two. A disadvantage of the 74 was that it was relatively expensive to build and man compared to the older type of two-decker.

The 74-gun ship normally carried twenty-eight 32- or 36-pound guns on the lower gun deck, thirty 18-pounders on the upper gun deck, and sixteen 9-pounders on the upper works. A limited number of seventy-fours were built for 24-pounders instead of 18-pounders, but this was not common due to the increased cost and also tended to overload the hull. Crew size was around 500 to 750 men depending on circumstances and nationality, British ships tending to have smaller crews than comparable Continental ones. The French have large and small seventy-fours, called "grand modèle" and "petite modèle", the waterline length of a "grand modèle" seventy-four could be up to 182 feet. This was copied by the Royal Navy in about two dozen such ships of their own, such as the HMS Colossus where they were known as Large, while the other seventy-fours built to be between 166–171 feet were known as Common.

Given the construction techniques of the day, the seventy-four approached the limits of what was possible. Such long hulls made from wood had a tendency to flex and sag over time. Increased maintenance could counter this to some extent, but this was of course costly. This limited the success of the even bigger two-deck 80-gun ships that were built in small numbers after the seventy-four had been introduced. Three-deckers did not have the same problem due to their additional deck giving more rigidity.

The significance of the 74s however is hard to overstate, as a summary of the ships of the line for all nations that were in commission at any time during the Revolutionary/Napoleonic Wars period.


 * 1st & 2nd raters (130–78 guns) 156
 * 3rd rate 74s (inc. 70 guns) 408
 * 3rd rate (60–68 guns) 199

74s in the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy captured a number of the early French 74-gun ships during the War of the Austrian Succession (for example, Invincible, captured at the first battle of Cape Finisterre in 1747) and the Seven Years' War and were greatly impressed by them compared to their own smallish 70-gun ships. As a result they started building them in great numbers from about 1760, as did most other European navies. Navies that were restricted by shallow waters, such as the Dutch and Scandinavian navies, at least early on tended to avoid the 74-gun ship to a certain degree due to its size and draught, preferring smaller two-deckers instead. Even so, the seventy-four was a standard feature in all European navies around 1800. Only a handful of 74-gun ships were commissioned into the United States Navy; the US Navy's early sea power concentrated on their powerfully-built frigates.

The type fell into disuse after the Napoleonic Wars, when improved building techniques made it possible to build even bigger two-deckers of 84 or even 90 guns without sacrificing hull rigidity.

The last seventy-four, the French Trafalgar veteran Duguay-Trouin, was scuttled in 1949. Her stern ornamentation is on display at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. In addition, dozens of ship models exist, produced as part of constructing the real ships, and thus believed accurate both externally and internally.

British

 * Dublin-class ship of the line (7 ships)
 * Hercules-class ship of the line (2 ships)
 * Bellona-class ship of the line (5 ships)
 * Arrogant-class ship of the line (12 ships)
 * Canada-class ship of the line (4 ships)
 * Ramillies-class ship of the line (9 ships)
 * Albion-class ship of the line (5 ships)
 * Elizabeth-class ship of the line (8 ships)
 * Royal Oak-class ship of the line (6 ships)
 * Culloden-class ship of the line (8 ships)
 * Alfred-class ship of the line (4 ships)
 * Ganges-class ship of the line (6 ships)
 * Courageux-class ship of the line (6 ships)
 * Fame-class ship of the line (4 ships)
 * Repulse-class ship of the line (8 ships)
 * Swiftsure-class ship of the line (2 ships)
 * Vengeur-class ship of the line (40 ships)
 * Black Prince-class ship of the line (4 ships)
 * Pompée-class ship of the line (2 ships)
 * America-class ship of the line (2 ships)

French

 * Annibal-class ship of the line (2 ships)
 * Téméraire-class ship of the line (107 ships)
 * César-class ship of the line (3 ships)
 * Séduisant-class ship of the line (2 ships)

Russian

 * Yaroslav-class ship of the line (19 ships)
 * Tsar Constantine-class ship of the line (4 ships)
 * Svyatoy Petr (Saint Peter)-class ship of the line (7 ships)
 * Selafail-class ship of the line (23 ships)
 * Anapa-class ship of the line (11 ships)
 * Tri Svyatitelya (Three Saints)-class ship of the line (7 ships)
 * Ezekiel-class ship of the line (25 ships)

Recommended reading

 * Jean Boudriot, transl. David Roberts, The Seventy-Four Gun Ship (Naval Institute Press, 1986) originally Le Vaisseau de 74 Canons, 1973. Four volumes document every aspect of the French 74, from shipyard construction techniques to handling under sail. Many large diagrams and drawings.