A €25m (£18m, $26.8m) replica of the French navy frigate L'Hermione, which played a key role in the American Revolution, will set sail on for its maiden voyage to the United States on 18 April.

More than 200 years after its namesake brought the Marquis de Lafayette to America to aid the rebel colonists in the fight against the red coats, the revamped Hermione will once more make the months-long transatlantic trip to celebrate the historical link between France and the US.

The replica, a product of more than two decades of planning and construction, measures more than 65m long, 47m tall and weighs 1.2 tonnes. Crews spent about two months sailing the ship off France's coast in its first sea trials after its initial baptism in September 2014.

On Saturday, L'Hermione will leave its mooring on the small island of Aix in the west of France, navigate up the Charente river to the historic naval town of Rochefort to pay homage to its birthplace, and finally head back to Aix before heading West.

The frigate will arrive in Yorktown on 5 June for a two-month tour of key locations in the American Revolution, including Annapolis, Boston, Philadelphia and New York City.

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