French ship Franklin (1797)
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| Career |  -  |
|---|---|
| Built | Toulon, 1794-1797 |
| Fate | Scrapped, 1887 |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 2016 tonnes |
| Length: | 56 m |
| Width: | 14 m |
| Beam: | 7 m |
| Draught: | |
| Class: | third rate |
| Speed: | |
| Complement: | |
| Armament: | 80 guns:
|
The Franklin was a French ship of the line designed by engineer Jacques-Noël Sané and named after the American scientist and politician Benjamin Franklin.
She was captured by the fleet of rear-admiral Nelson at the Battle of the Nile, and commissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Canopus. While under the command of Francis Austen, brother to novelist Jane Austen, the Canopus was temporarily absent from the fleet in October 1805 on convoy duty in the Mediterranean, and missed participating in the Battle of Trafalgar; she did participate however in the Battle of San Domingo which was fought the next year.
From 1863, she was used for harbour duty, and she was sold for scrap in October 1887.
