The Abeille class was a type of 16-gun brig-corvette of the French Navy, designed by François PestelMONOGRAPHIE DU CYGNE - Brick -1806 24-PDR BRIG LE CYGNE BY ENGINEER PESTEL 1806 -1808 MONOGRAPH with some units refined by Pierre-Jacques-Nicolas Rolland. They were armed with either 24-pounder carronades, or a mixture of light 6-pounder long guns and lighter carronades. Twenty-one ships of this type were built between 1801 and 1812, and served in the Napoleonic Wars.
The four first ships were ordered in bulk on 24 December 1800, but two (Mouche and Serin) could not be completed due to shortages of timbers. As the forerunner of the series, Abeille, is not always identified as such in British sources, the type is sometimes referred to as the Sylphe class, after Sylphe, which served as model for subsequent constructions.
Ships Mouche Builder: Toulon Roche, p.316 Begun: 24 December 1800 Launched: Completed: Fate: Never completed due to lack of timber.
Abeille Builder: Toulon Roche, p.17 Begun: 24 December 1800 Launched: 24 June 1801 Completed: 21 May 1801 Fate: Hulked in 1844, renamed Molène and used as an achor depot in Brest in 1865
Furet Builder: Toulon Roche, p.217 Begun: September 1801 Launched: 24 December 1801 Completed: 25 February 1802 Fate: Captured by HMS Hydra on 27 February 1806
Serin Builder: Toulon Roche, p.412 Begun: 1802 Launched: Completed: Fate: Never completed due to lack of timber.
Faune Builder: Nantes Roche, p.194 Begun: 1803 Launched: 8 July 1804 Completed: Fate: Captured by HMS Goliath on 2 August 1805 and commissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Fawn
Néarque Builder: Caudan, Lorient Roche, p.323 Begun: 15 June 1803 Launched: 27 April 1804 Completed: 13 July 1804 Fate: Captured by HMS Niobe on 28 March 1806.
Sylphe Builder: Dunkerque Roche, p.428 Begun: June 1803 Launched: 10 July 1804 Completed: 29 September 1804 Fate: Captured by HMS Comet on 18 August 1808, commissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Seagull
Adonis Builder: Genoa (Italy) Roche, p.22 Begun: April 1805 Launched: 18 August 1806 Completed: 21 November 1806 Fate: Broken up in 1823
Cygne Builder: Le Havre DockyardRoche, p.138 Begun: 28 April 1806 Launched: 12 September 1806 Completed: Fate: Ran aground and scuttled by fire to avoid capture
Écureuil Builder: Begun: Launched: Completed: Fate:
Requin Builder: Begun: Launched: Completed: Fate:
Béarnais Builder: Begun: Launched: Completed: Fate:
Génie Builder: Begun: Launched: Completed: Fate:
Pluvier Builder: Begun: Launched: Completed: Fate:
Basque Builder: Begun: Launched: Completed: Fate:
Hussard Builder: Begun: Launched: Completed: Fate:
Renard Builder: Genoa Dockyard Begun: November 1808 Launched: 12 May 1810 Completed: Fate: Seized by the British in 1814 with the capitulation of Genoa
Zèbre Builder: Begun: Launched: Completed: Fate:
Faune Builder: Begun: Launched: Completed: Fate:
Actéon Builder: Begun: Launched: Completed: Fate:
Inconstant Builder: Begun: Launched: Completed: Fate:
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