"The [feminine] Dolphin", term used for the wife of the crown prince) was a three-masted sailing vessel that served as the flagship of the explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano on his first voyage to the New World while seeking a shipping passage to China from Europe.

The ship was built in 1518 at the Royal Dockyard of Le Havre, Normandy and displayed the typical shape of a Norman nef (carrack).

La Dauphine was piloted by Antoine de Conflans[6] and Verrazzano's brother, Girolamo, the only other person aboard whose name is known, served as navigator and cartographer.

The vessel then continued and reached the Penobscot River in Maine, apparently missed entering the Bay of Fundy,[5] passed Nova Scotia, and arrived at the already known Newfoundland.

Currently a 1/50 model of La Dauphine has been created, and building plans are being developed, based on best evidence of contemporary documents and similar types of ships of the period.