Souverain (74)
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Origin and History
The ship was built by Noël Pomet at Toulon starting in November 1755 and launched on June 6 1757.
During the Seven Years' War, the ship was under the command of:
- no information found
The ship was captured by the British Royal Navy on August 1 1798 and recommissioned as the HMS Guerrier
Service during the War
In November 1757, the ship was commissioned for the first time.
In 1759, the ship was part of the fleet assembled at Toulon under de la Clue which was destined to reinforce the main French fleet at Brest for the planned invasions of Great Britain. By mid May, de la Clue's squadron was almost ready for sea when a British squadron under the command of Boscawen, conducting operations in the Mediterranean, appeared off Toulon and blockaded the harbour. At the beginning of July, Boscawen was compelled to go to Gibraltar for provisions and repairs. On August 5, de la Clue set sail from Toulon to make a junction with de Conflans' fleet at Brest. On August 17, de la Clue's fleet (10 ships of the line, 2 50-gun ships and 3 frigates) passed the straits of Gibraltar where it was sighted by the Gibraltar (20). Alarmed, Boscawen set sail from Gibraltar to intercept de la Clue. During the night of August 17 to 18, 5 of de la Clue's ships lost sight of his flagship and steered for Cadiz. In the afternoon of August 18, the ship took part in the disastrous battle of Lagos. During the night of August 18 to 19, Boscawen pursued the French squadron. Meanwhile, the Souverain (74) and Guerrier (74) altered course to the west, and escaped.
To do: campaigns from 1760 to 1762
Characteristics
| Guns | 74
| ||||||
| Crew | 6 officers and 715 men | ||||||
| Length | 164 ft (53.27 m) in French feet | ||||||
| Width | 43 ft 6 in (14.02 m) | ||||||
| Depth | 21 ft 6 in (6.98 m) | ||||||
| Displacement | 1,536 tons |
References
Deschênes, Ronald, Répertoire des vaisseaux de ligne français 1682-1780
Harrison, Simon and Manuel Blasco, Three Decks - Warships in the Age of Sail
N.B.: the section Service during the War is derived from our articles depicting the various campaigns, battles and sieges.
