The Justice was a Virginie class

Virginie class frigate

The Virginie class was a class of ten 44-gun frigates of the French Navy, designed in 1793 by Jacques-Noël Sané. An eleventh vessel begun in 1794 was never completed.* Virginie...

 frigate

Frigate

A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...

 of the 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...

, originally built and completed as Courageuse in 1794, but renamed Justice in April 1795.

Under her new name, she took part in the Expedition to Egypt. After the Junon ran agroung in Aboukir, the Justice escorted her to Alexandria

Alexandria

Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

 for repairs. She took part in the Battle of the Nile

Battle of the Nile

The Battle of the Nile was a major naval battle fought between British and French fleets at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt from 1–3 August 1798...

, managing to escape to Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 with the Diane

French frigate Diane (1796)

The Diane was a 38-gun frigate of the French Navy.She took part in the Battle of the Nile, managing to escape to Malta with the Justice....

.

In 1800, she escaped to Toulon just before the fall of Malta. From there, she acted as a blockade runner

Blockade runner

A blockade runner is usually a lighter weight ship used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait, as opposed to confronting the blockaders to break the blockade. Very often blockade running is done in order to transport cargo, for example to bring food or arms to a blockaded city...

for the benefit of the French army in Egypt.

She was in Alexandria when the city was captured by the British in September 1801, and given to Turkey by the British Navy.