French ship Royal Louis (1743)

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Royal Louis.

Royal Louis was a First Rank ship of the line of the French Royal Navy, but was never completed. Launch was scheduled to be in 1743, but on 25 December 1742 she was set alight while still on the stocks, and burnt. It was claimed that this was an act of sabotage by a Señor Pontleau, who was tried and executed for the offence.^[1]

Decorations of Royal Louis
History
France
Namesake	Louis of France
Builder	Brest Dockyard
Laid down	13 March 1740
Launched	(not launched)
Fate	Burnt on slip
General characteristics
Class and type	First Rank ship of the line
Displacement	4,834 French tonnes
Tons burthen	3,000 tonnes
Length	185 French feet
Beam	50 French feet 8 inches
Draught	23¼ - 24¾ French feet (estimated)[a]
Depth of hold	22 French feet 2 inches
Decks	3 gun decks
Complement	1,200 (intended, wartime) + 18 officers
Armament	118 guns (intended) 32 × 36-pounder guns on lower deck 34 × 24-pounder guns on middle deck 34 × 12-pounder guns on upper deck 18 × 8-pounder guns on quarterdeck and forecastle
Armour	timber

Notes

1. The French pre-metric foot was 6.575% longer than the equivalent English foot.