Indien (1777)
South Carolina (second from right) at the Battle of the Delaware Capes | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| South Carolina | |
| Name |
|
| Laid down | Early 1777 |
| Launched | November 1777 |
| Fate |
|
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Frigate |
| Tons burthen | 1,430 (bm) |
| Length | 170 ft (52 m) |
| Beam | 43 ft 3 in (13.18 m) |
| Draft | 16 ft 6 in (5.03 m) |
| Propulsion | Sail |
| Complement | 550 officers and men |
| Armament | 28 × 36-pounder guns + 12 × 12-pounder guns |
Indien was a 40-gun frigate ordered by American diplomats in France Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane, and Arthur Lee. Designed by shipwright Jacques Boux, she was laid down in early 1777 at a private shipyard in Amsterdam and launched in November 1777. Built with the scantlings and lines of a small 74-gun ship of the line, she was constructed as a frigate. In 1780, the Duke of Luxembourg chartered her to the South Carolina State Navy, which renamed her South Carolina.
Her armament consisted of 28 Swedish 36-pounder long guns on her main deck, and 12 12-pounder long guns on her forecastle and quarterdeck. In December 1782, she was captured by the Royal Navy in the Battle of the Delaware Capes. The British did not take her into service, and she disappears from historical records after 1783. Perhaps her greatest significance is that the marine architect Joshua Humphreys studied her sleek hull and used her lines in designing the United States Navy's first frigates, especially USS Constitution and USS Constellation.