Soleil-Royal (84)
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Origin and History
The ship was built by J.-L. Coulomb in 1748 at Brest and launched on June 30 1749.
During the Seven Years' War, the ship was under the command of:
- in 1759: M. Bidé de Chézac
In 1759, the ship ran ashore and was burnt by her crew in the aftermath of the battle of Quiberon.
Service during the War
From 1757 to 1759, the ship was Marshal de Conflans' flagship.
In November 1759, in preparation for the planned invasion of England, the ship set sails for Quiberon Bay with the Brest Fleet. She had the particularity of having a full complement and carrying only brass-cannons. On November 20, during the battle of Quiberon she was warmly engaged by several British vessels but suffered no losses and was only damaged by a collision with her consert, the Tonnant (80). During the night she anchored in the middle of Lord Hawke's fleet with the Héros (74). In the morning of November 21, Conflans realized his desperate situation, headed for Le Croisic, ran ashore and had his flagship burnt. Later that year, a British squadron tried to take the artillery from the wreck and removed her figure head and stern decorations as a final humiliation.
Characteristics
| Guns | 84
| ||||||
| Crew | 950-1000 men | ||||||
| Length | 182' (59.12 m) in French feet | ||||||
| Width | 48' (15.62 m) | ||||||
| Depth | 23' (7.50 m) | ||||||
| Displacement | 2000 tons |
References
Acknowledgments
Simon Brocas de Boisgris for the initial version of this article
