French frigate Sémillante (1791)

Sémillante engaging Venus on 27 May 1793
History
France
NameSémillante
BuilderLorient
Laid downDecember 1790
Launched25 November 1791
In serviceMay 1792
Fate
  • Sold in 1808, renamed Charles
  • Captured and broken up
General characteristics
Class & typeSémillante-class frigate
Displacement600 tons (French)
Length45.5 m (149 ft)
Beam11.5 m (38 ft)
Draught5.5 m (18 ft)
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Armament26 × 12-pounder long guns + 6 × 6-pounder guns

Sémillante (French: "Shiny" or "Sparkling") was a 32-gun frigate of the French Navy and the lead ship of her class. She was involved in a number of multi-vessel actions against the Royal Navy, particularly in the Indian Ocean. She captured a number of East Indiamen before she became so damaged that the French disarmed her and turned her into a merchant vessel. The British captured her and broke her up in 1809.