French ship Couronne (1636)

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

Couronne (French for "crown") was an emblematic ship of the French Navy built by order of Richelieu.

Couronn. Frontispiece of Hydrographie by Georges Fournier, 1643.
History
Kingdom of France
Builder	Charles Morieu (chantier de La Roche-Bernard)
Laid down	1629
Launched	1632 or 1633
Commissioned	1636
Decommissioned	1645
In service	1635
Out of service	1645
Fate	Broken up
General characteristics
Tonnage	1,500
Length	165 French feet overall(excludes 10 metre-long bowsprit) 120 French feet keel 53.5 meters
Beam	44 French feet 14.3 meters
Depth of hold	16 feet 5.2 meters
Decks	2 gun decks
Complement	500, + 9 officers; later 643 men
Armament	48 - 72 guns: Lower battery 32 18-pounder long guns Upper battery: 24 9-pounder long guns Forecastle: 8 6-pounder long guns firing forwards Quarterdeck: 8 6-pounder long guns firing aft
Armour	Timber

The Couronne was the first major warship to be designed and built by the French themselves in accordance with Richelieu's plans to renew the French Navy, after a series of warships had been built by the Dutch. The construction was supervised by Isaac de Launay Razilly (died in Arcadia 1635), and overseen by the famous carpenter Charles Morieu, from Dieppe. She was being constructed at La Roche-Bernard and was one of the most advanced units of her time. After launch in 1632 or 1633, she was moved to Brouage in September 1634 where she was completed around 1635 by Mathieu Casteau. She carried up to 72 heavy guns, most on her two-deck broadsaide but also 8 firing forwards from the bow and 8 firing aft, an unusual feature until Dupuy de Lôme redesigned naval artillery.

Couronne took part in the Battle of Guetaria on 22 August 1638, and another expedition to Spain in 1639 under Henri de Sourdis.

The ship was disarmed in 1641 and broken up between 1643–1645.

• 
  Photograph of a model lost in 1943
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  Detailed drawing of the ship
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  Further drawings and specifications of the ship
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See also

• Troupes de la marine
• Troupes de Marine

References

• Nomenclature des Vaisseaux de Louis XIII et de la régence d'Anne d'Autriche, 1610 a 1661. Alain Demerliac (Editions Omega, Nice – 2004).
• 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.