The Abeille class was a type of 16-gun brig-corvette of the French Navy, designed by François Pestel 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. 21 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, Serin) could not be completed due to shortags 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.
MoucheBuilder: Toulon Begun: 24 December 1800Launched:Completed:Fate: Never completed due to lack of timber.
AbeilleBuilder: Toulon 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
FuretBuilder: Toulon Begun: September 1801 Launched: 24 December 1801 Completed: 25 February 1802 Fate: Captured by HMS
Hydra on 27 February 1806
SerinBuilder: Toulon Begun: 1802Launched:Completed:Fate: Never completed due to lack of timber.
FauneBuilder: Nantes Begun: 1803 Launched: 8 July 1804 Completed:Fate: Captured by HMS
Goliath on 2 August 1805 and commissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS
FawnNéarqueBuilder: Caudan, Lorient Begun: 15 June 1804 Launched: 27 April 1804 Completed: 13 July 1804 Fate: Captured by HMS
Niobe on 28 March 1806.
SylpheBuilder: Dunkerque 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 AdonisBuilder:
Genoa (Italy) Begun: April 1805 Launched: 18 August 1806 Completed: 21 November 1806 Fate: Broken up in 1823
CygneBuilder: Le Havre DockyardBegun: 28 April 1806 Launched: 12 September 1806 Completed:Fate: Ran aground and scuttled by fire to avoid capture
ÉcureuilBuilder:Begun:Launched:Completed:Fate:
RequinBuilder:Begun:Launched:Completed:Fate:
BéarnaisBuilder:Begun:Launched:Completed:Fate:
GénieBuilder:Begun:Launched:Completed:Fate:
PluvierBuilder:Begun:Launched:Completed:Fate:
BasqueBuilder:Begun:Launched:Completed:Fate:
HussardBuilder:Begun:Launched:Completed:Fate:
RenardBuilder: Genoa DockyardBegun: November 1808Launched: 12 May 1810Completed:Fate: Seized by the British in 1814 with the capitulation of Genoa
ZèbreBuilder:Begun:Launched:Completed:Fate:
FauneBuilder:Begun:Launched:Completed:Fate:
ActéonBuilder:Begun:Launched:Completed:Fate:
InconstantBuilder:Begun:Launched:Completed:Fate:
