Model of Hortense, on display at Toulon naval museum
Class overview
Name	Hortense
Operators	French Navy
Preceded by	Virginie class
Succeeded by	Pallas class
Planned	8
Completed	6
Cancelled	2
General characteristics
Type	Frigate
Length	46.77 m (153 ft 5 in)
Beam	11.91 m (39 ft 1 in)
Draught	5.9 m (19 ft 4 in)
Propulsion	1,950 m2 (21,000 sq ft) of sail
Complement	326
Armament	nominally 40 guns in practice carried either 44 or 46 guns: upper deck - 28 long 18-pounders quarter deck & forecastle ("les gaillards") - 8 long 8-pounders and 8 36-pounder carronades (there were several variant ordnance fits on the gaillards)
Armour	Timber

Jacques-Noël Sané designed the Hortense-class 40-gun frigates of the French Navy in 1802, a development of his 1793 design for the Virginie class. Eight frigates to this new design were ordered between 1801 and 1806, but two ordered on 18 April 1803 at Antwerp (Néréïde and Vénus) were cancelled unstarted in June 1803; the other six were built between 1803 and 1807. Of the six, one was wrecked at sea and the British Royal Navy captured three, taking two into service.

• Hortense

Builder: Toulon

Ordered: 6 April 1801

Laid down: 14 December 1802

Launched: 3 July 1803

Completed: January 1804

Fate: Renamed Flore on 14 March 1814, reverted to Hortense 22 March 1815, then back to Flore 15 July 1815. Deleted 25 November 1840

• Hermione

Builder: Toulon

Ordered: 2 September 1803 as République Italienne

Laid down: October 1803, renamed Hermione on 26 December 1803

Launched: 2 December 1804

Completed: March 1805

Fate: Wrecked 18 August 1808 near Trépied (near Brest).

• Pomone

Builder: Murio & Migone, Genoa

Ordered:

Laid down: August 1803

Launched: 10 February 1805

Completed: May 1805

Fate: Captured by the British Navy on 29 November 1811, becoming HMS Ambuscade.

• Manche

Builder: Cherbourg

Ordered: 6 October 1803 as Département de la Manche

Laid down: 22 June 1804

Launched: 5 April 1806, when name shortened to Manche

Completed: September 1806

Fate: Captured by the British Navy on 4 December 1810, but not added to that navy.

• Caroline

Builder: Antwerp

Ordered: 24 April 1804

Laid down: May 1804

Launched: 15 August 1806

Completed: December 1806

Fate: Captured by the British Navy on 21 September 1809, becoming HMS Bourbonnaise.

• Pauline

Builder: Toulon

Ordered: 21 March 1806

Laid down: May 1806

Launched: 18 April 1807

Completed: July 1807

Fate: Renamed Bellone on 11 April 1814, reverted to Pauline on 22 March 1815, then again to Bellone on 15 July 1815. Deleted 11 December 1841.

References

• Rif Winfield and Stephen S Roberts, French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786-1861: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing, 2015. ISBN 978-1-84832-204-2.