French ship Lys (1669)

The Lys was a 70-gun 3-decker ship of the line of the French Navy, designed by Audibert. She was the first ship of the line to feature suspended lamps instead of candles.

History
French Navy EnsignFrance
NameLys
NamesakeFleur de Lys
BuilderToulon
Laid downSeptember 1667
Launched16 February 1669
In service22 May 1670
Stricken1691
FateBroken up 1689
General characteristics
Displacement1500 tonnes
Length46 m (151 ft)
Beam12.9 m (42 ft)
Draught6.5 m (21 ft)
PropulsionSail
Complement450 to 500
Armament70 guns
ArmourTimber

As Ile de France, she was commissioned under Captain Bellisle to wage war against the Barbary corsairs.

She was renamed Lys on 24 June 1671. She took part in operations off Tripoli under Captain de La Fayette. In 1672, along with Dauphin, Juste and Reine, she battled corsairs from Algiers at the entrance of Rhône, destroying two of them.

She was part of Abraham Duquesne's squadron in operations off Sicily. She took part in the Battle of Stromboli under Lieutenant-Général Marquis Guillaume d'Alméras, and in the Battle of Augusta, where she led the vanguard of the French fleet. She was in the rear-guard at the Battle of Palermo.

She was eventually broken up in 1689.