Heller 80899 Le Soleil Royal

The Soleil Royal (French for the Royal Sun) was a French liner from the end of the 17th century. The unit was launched in 1670 and probably entered service a year later. The ship was built in a shipyard in the city of Brest in France. The vessel was 61 m long and 15.64 m wide. Its displacement was about 1,650 tons. The ship was armed with 104 on-board guns, and its crew consisted of nearly 890 people.

Soleil Royal referred to its name to the nickname of Louis XIV, reigning in France at that time, who was called the "Sun-King". The engineer Laurent Hubac was responsible for the construction of the unit. The sailing ship was generally well designed, it was characterized by high seaworthiness, it was also very maneuverable and well armed. He is also famous for his rich decorations in the stern part. Undoubtedly, it was one of the most beautiful units of the end of the 17th century, and more importantly - with a very high combat potential. Soleil Royal served in the so-called Atlantic Squadron, as the flagship of the famous Admiral Tourville. The ship took part in the victorious Battle of Beachy Head in 1690, as well as demonstrated considerable potential in the Battle of La Hague (another name for a staracia: the Battle of Barfleur) in 1692. However, it was badly damaged in it and had to enter the port of Cherbourg, which had been deprived at that time, where it was sunk by the British fleet at the beginning of June 1692. Of the entire crew, numbering nearly 890 people, probably only one person survived.