The Royal Louis was a first-rate

First-rate

First rate was the designation used by the Royal Navy for its largest ships of the line. While the size and establishment of guns and men changed over the 250 years that the rating system held sway, from the early years of the eighteenth century the first rates comprised those ships mounting 100...

 116-gun ship of the line

Ship of the line

A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...

 of the Royal French Navy

French Navy

The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...

, built in 1757-59 by Jacques-Luc Coulomb at Brest. She was the fourth ship to bear the name, and the only ship of the Sans-Pareil

French ship Sans-Pareil (1757)

The Sans-Pareil was a ship of the line project presented to Louis XV between 1757 and 1760. No actual ship of the French Navy bore the name, though the Royal Louis was built on the scheme.-Evolution of the capital ships:...

design ever built.

In 1771, when in dry dock, she was damaged beyond repair and eventually demolished in 1772.

A 1/18 scale model on display at Paris naval museum is thought to represent Royal Louis.