 Foudroyant at the Battle of Minorca (1756) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
.svg) France | |
| Name | Foudroyant |
| Builder | Toulon shipyard |
| Laid down | August 1748 |
| Launched | 18 December 1750 |
| Commissioned | April 1751 |
| Captured | 28 February 1758, by the Royal Navy |
| Notes |
|
.svg) Great Britain | |
| Name | HMSFoudroyant |
| Acquired |
|
| Commissioned | June 1759 |
| Fate | Broken up by 26 September 1787 |
| Notes |
|
| General characteristics[1] | |
| Class and type | 80-gunThird Rateship of the line |
| Tons burthen | 206157⁄94(bm) |
| Length | 180 ft 5 in (54.99 m) (gundeck) |
| Beam | 50 ft 3 in (15.32 m) |
| Depth of hold | 23 ft (7.0 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Armament |
|
TheFoudroyant was an 80-gunship of the line of theFrench Navy. She was later captured and served in theRoyal Navy as theThird RateHMSFoudroyant.[1]
Following the Royal Navy tradition she is identified by the date of her introduction to the British navy (in this case post-dating the date of her construction).
Foudroyant was built atToulon to a design by François Coulomb, and was launched on 18 December 1750.[2] She was present at theBattle of Minorca in 1756, where she engaged the British flagshipHMSRamillies.
She then formed part of a squadron underJean-François de La Clue-Sabran, during which time she was captured during theBattle of Cartagena offCartagena, Spain[3] on 28 February 1758 byMonmouth,Hampton Court andSwiftsure.[4] TheMonmouth's Captain Arthur Gardiner was mortally wounded early in the fight, and his two lieutenants, led by Lt Robert Carkett, commanded the Monmouth for most of the battle. The captain of theFoudroyant, the Marquis de Quesne, insisted upon handing his sword to Lt Carkett. 190 were killed on the Foudroyant. It was then towed to Cape de Gata by HMS Swiftsure before being taken toGibraltar for repair, where it was made sea-worthy again.[5]
She was brought intoPortsmouth in September 1758 still with the captured French on board. The crew were then imprisoned atPorchester Castle. The Marquis de Quesne and his two senior captains were brought to England independently onHMS Gibraltar and held atNorthampton. Junior officers were held atMaidstone.[6]
She was surveyed at Portsmouth for £163.10.2d. TheAdmiralty approved her purchase on 7 November that year, and she was duly bought on 6 December for the sum of £16,759.19.11d.[2] She was officially namedFoudroyant and entered onto the navy lists on 13 December 1758. She underwent a refit at Portsmouth between February and August 1759 for the sum of £14,218.9.2d to fit her for navy service.[2]
She was commissioned in June 1759 under the command of CaptainRichard Tyrell, serving as the flagship of Vice-Admiral SirCharles Hardy between June and October 1759.[2] She spent August sailing with AdmiralEdward Hawke's fleet.Foudroyant underwent another refit at Portsmouth in the spring of 1760, commissioning later that year under CaptainRobert Duff. She sailed to theLeeward Islands in April 1760, but had returned to Britain by Autumn 1761 to undergo another refit. She took part in theoperations off Martinique in early 1762, before coming under the command of CaptainMolyneaux Shuldham later that year.[2] She served for a short period as the flagship of AdmiralGeorge Rodney, before being paid off in 1763. She underwent several surveys, and a large repair between February 1772 and January 1774, after which she was fitted to serve as thePlymouthguardship in April 1775. She recommissioned again in August that year, under the command of CaptainJohn Jervis, and was stationed at Plymouth until early 1777.[2]
In March 1777 she was fitted for service in theEnglish Channel, and spent that summer cruising off the French coast.[2] On 31 July 1777, she engaged the AmericanprivateerFancy, which was driven ashore atPenzance,Cornwall.[7] On 18 June 1778 she engaged and captured the 32-gunPallas, and was then present with AdmiralAugustus Keppel's fleet at theBattle of Ushant on 27 July 1778.[2] Jervis was briefly replaced as captain by Captain Charles Hudson, while theFoudroyant became the flagship of her old commander, now Vice-Admiral Lord Shuldham.[2] Jervis resumed command in 1779, sailing with Hardy's fleet, before being moved to a detached squadron in December 1779.Foudroyant returned to port in early 1780, where she was refitted and had her hull coppered. On the completion of this work by May, she returned to sea, sailing at first with AdmiralFrancis Geary's fleet, and later withGeorge Darby's. She was then present at the relief ofGibraltar in April 1781, after which she was moved toRobert Digby's squadron.[2] By the summer of 1781 she had returned to sailing with Darby's fleet, and by April 1782 had moved to a squadron underSamuel Barrington.
She captured the French 74-gunPégase on 21 April 1782, for which actions Jervis was knighted.[2] In addition toPégase, Jervis captured four transports:Fidelité (178 troops and stores),Belonne (147 troops and stores),Lionne (180 troops and stores), andDuc de Chartres (stores and arms).[8][Note 1]
She sailed again in July 1782, this time as part of a fleet under AdmiralRichard Howe, before spending the autumn cruising in theWestern Approaches. She briefly came under the command of CaptainWilliam Cornwallis in 1783, but was soon paid off and then fitted for ordinary.
An Admiralty order of 24 August 1787 provided forFoudroyant to be broken up and she was sold off for £479.3.2d. The breaking up had been completed by 26 September 1787.[2]
Media related toFoudroyant (ship, 1751) at Wikimedia Commons