The works of the Commission led to the design of double-decked
24-pounder frigates, as well as to four ranks of ships of the line: the 120-gun (
Valmy being the lone unit built to the design), the 100-gun
Hercule class, the 90-gun
Suffren class, and an 80-gun type whose only ship ever started, Tour d’Auvergne, was never launched.
These ships of the line featured straight sides instead of the traditional
tumblehome design that had prevailed until then; this tended to heighten the ships' centre of gravity, but provided much more room for equipment in the upper decks. Stability issues were fixed with underwater stabilisers. However, they proved difficult to build in a tight financial context; the resulting lengthy construction limited the useful lifetime of the ships, compounded with their quick obsolescence caused by the introduction of the
Paixhans gun,
steam engines and
armour plating.
Ships designed by the Commission de Paris
Valmy, the only 120-gun ship built to the Commission design, photographed after 1864 as the schoolship Borda.
1/75-scale model of the 100-gun Prince Jérôme, on display at the
Swiss Museum of Transport. She was transformed into a sail and steam ship of the line while on keel.
During the
First French Empire, the French Navy was organised into three types of ships of the line: the 118-gun three-deckers of the
Océan class and their
Commerce de Paris-class derivatives, which constituted the capital ships that led naval squadrons; the powerful 80-gun two-deckers of the
Tonnant class and their
Bucentaure-class derivatives, constituting the backbone of the squadrons; and the
74-gun workhorses of the
Téméraire class.[1] On the side of frigates, the design had stabilised on
18-pounder frigates of 44 guns, despite numerous attempts to increase the calibre of the main battery to
24-pounders as exemplified in particular by the
Forte class.[2][3]
In 1822, Tupinier published his Observations sur les dimensions des Vaisseaux et Frégates de la Marine française, recommending that the Océan class be retained as capital ship, and that two ranks of two-deckers be adopted: one carrying 102 guns, and the other 96.[1] The number of capital ships needed was determined to be ten.[4]
Boudriot, Jean (1995). Les vaisseaux de 74 à 120 canons : étude historique, 1650-1850. Paris: Éditions Ancre.
Boudriot, Jean (1995). "Vaisseaux et frégates sous la Restauration et la Monarchie de Juillet". Marine et Technique au XIXe siècle. Paris: Éditions Ancre.