Téméraire (74)
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Origin and History
This ship of the line was built by F. Coulomb in Toulon (France) in 1748. She was launched in 1749.
During the Seven Years' War, the ship was under the command of:
- 1756: M. de Sabran
The ship was striken off of the fleet in 1784.
Service during the War
In 1756, the ship participated to the amphibious expedition against Minorca. On May 20, she took part to the battle of Minorca against admiral Byng's squadron where a French fleet prevented him to bring reinforcement to Fort St. Philip de Mahon.
At the beginning of 1759, the French planned to collect as large a naval force as possible at Toulon and then to send it round to join her main fleet at Brest. These combined fleets would then escort a force of about 17,000 men, under the command of the duc d'Aiguillon, from Vannes in Bretagne to Ireland. The ship was part of de la Clue's squadron assembled at Toulon. By mid May, the squadron was almost ready for sea when a British blockading force under the command of Boscawen appeared of Cap Sicié. At the beginning of July, Boscawen was compelled to go to Gibraltar for provisions and repairs. On August 5 M. de la Clue left Toulon. 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). 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. After an initial engagement, most of the French squadron managed to escape. On the morning of August 19, the ship anchored under the Portuguese batteries of Lagos. The Warspite (74) was ordered in against her and succeeded in bringing her out very little damaged. As soon as his fleet had repaired damages, Boscawen returned to Great Britain, in accordance with his instructions, taking with him a large part of his squadron including the captured Téméraire (74). The ship was purchased and added to the Navy under her French names.
Characteristics
| Guns | 74
| ||||||
| Crew | approx. 650 men | ||||||
| Length | 163 ft (52.94 m) in French feet | ||||||
| Width | 43 ft (13.97 m) | ||||||
| Depth | 20 ft 10 in (6.50 m) | ||||||
| Displacement | 1,580 tons |
References
Anonymous, A Complete History of the Present War, from its Commencement in 1756, to the End of the Campaign, 1760, London, 1761
Fortescue J. W., A History of the British Army Vol. II, MacMillan, London, 1899, pp. 291-295
Pajol, Charles P. V., Les Guerres sous Louis XV, vol. VI, Paris, 1891, pp. 3-19
Unknown author, Répertoire des vaisseaux de ligne français 1682-1780
