French ship Fier (1694)

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

Fier was a first-rate three-decker ship of the line of the French Royal Navy. She was armed on completion with 90 guns, comprising twenty-six 36-pounder guns on the lower deck, twenty-eight 18-pounder guns on the middle deck, and twenty-six 8-pounder guns on the upper deck, with ten 6-pounder guns on the quarterdeck. In 1706 an extra pair of 36-pounders was added on the lower deck, and an extra pair of 8-pounders on the upper deck, giving her 94 guns in total,

History
France
Name	Fier
Builder	Rochefort Dockyard
Laid down	1693
Launched	1694
Commissioned	1695
Out of service	March 1713
Fate	Broken up 1715
General characteristics
Tonnage	1,750
Length	158 French feet as completed
Beam	46 French feet as completed
Draught	21½ French feet
Depth of hold	19½ French feet
Complement	700, + 18 officers
Armament	90 (later 94) guns

Designed and constructed by Honoré Malet and Pierre Masson jointly, she was begun at Rochefort in 1693 and launched on 1694, thus becoming the last three-decker to join Louis XIV's Navy. She took part in the Battle of Vélez-Málaga on 13 August 1704. In July 1707 she was sunk in shallow water at Toulon to avoid the fire from bomb vessels, but was refloated in October. She was condemned at Toulon in March 1713, and was sold to be broken up in November 1715.

References

• Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours 1 1671 - 1870. p. 223. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.
• Nomenclature des Vaisseaux du Roi-Soleil de 1661 a 1715. Alain Demerliac (Editions Omega, Nice – various dates).
• The Sun King's Vessels (2015) – Jean-Claude Lemineur; English translation by François Fougerat. Editions ANCRE. ISBN 978-2903179885
• Winfield, Rif and Roberts, Stephen (2017) French Warships in the Age of Sail 1626-1786: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4738-9351-1.