French Navy 3rd Rates of Renown by Warlord Games

Black Seas: French Navy 3rd Rates of Renown

This box contains three ships of the French Navy, Class 3. Based on the excellent plastic castings, the box includes additional metal components to build the following famous ships, all of which participated in the Battle of Trafalgar!

Indomptable – An 80-gun ship of the Tonnant class, the Indomptable was laid down in 1788 and entered service in 1791. During her first engagement at The Glorious First of June, she lost her mast and had to be towed back to Brest.

Under the command of the Admirable Villeneuve, she sailed as part of a large fleet towards the West Indies, but returned to Europe when news arrived that Nelson had arrived there. At the Battle of Cape Finisterre, a fierce exchange of artillery was halted by dense fog, so an exhausted French fleet anchored in Ferrol before continuing on to Cádiz. Admiral Villeneuve, whose command was threatened, vowed to meet the British at Cape Trafalgar.

At Trafalgar, the Indomptable was part of the Spanish line and commissioned Vice Admiral Collingwood's flagship, HMS Royal Sovereign, as well as HMS Belleisle, HMS Revenge, HMS Dreadnought, and HMS Thunderer. Drifting downwind and out of range, she turned back towards Cádiz but became involved in a rescue operation for Bucentaure, which had run aground on a reef. The following night, the Indomptable encountered a storm and was driven onto rocks off the coast of Cádiz. It is estimated that only 150 (out of a crew of 100 to 1,400) survived the wreck.

Formidable – an 80-gun Tonnant-class ship of the French Navy – was briefly called Figuières, but was renamed Formidable before its launch in Toulon on May 31, 1795. She participated in the Battle of Algeciras, the Battle of Cape Finisterre, and the Battle of Trafalgar, where she served as the flagship of Rear Admiral Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley in the six-ship vanguard of the French fleet.

She was captured by the British at the Battle of Cape Ortegal on November 4, 1805. During her service in the Royal Navy, she was renamed HMS Brave and finally sold for scrapping in 1816.

Argonaute – a 74-gun ship of the French Navy line. Under Vice-Amiral Villaret de Joyeuse, she participated in the 1802 expedition to Saint-Domingue. She took part in the Battle of Trafalgar but managed to return to Cádiz. Due to severe damage and the British blockade, she was unable to leave port and was eventually exchanged for the Spanish ship Vencedor in December 1806. At that time, she was renamed Argonauta but was never recommissioned.

The box contains 3 plastic ships with metal parts.

Models are supplied unpainted.