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French ship Formidable (1795)
Encyclopedia
Formidable was an 80-gun Tonnant class
Tonnant class ship of the line
The Tonnant Class was a class of eight 80-gun ships of the line designed in 1787 by Jacques-Noël Sané. From 1802 a new group was begun of slightly modified design, of which more than 24 were begun....
ship of the line
Ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
of the French navy, laid down as Figuires and renamed in 1795. She was launched at Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
in 1795. She participated in the Battle of Algeciras, the Battle of Cape Finisterre
Battle of Cape Finisterre (1805)
In the Battle of Cape Finisterre off Galicia, Spain, the British fleet under Admiral Robert Calder fought an indecisive naval battle against the Combined Franco-Spanish fleet which was returning from the West Indies...
and several other actions before the British captured her at the Battle of Cape Ortegal
Battle of Cape Ortegal
The Battle of Cape Ortegal was the final action of the Trafalgar Campaign, and was fought between a squadron of the Royal Navy and a remnant of the fleet that had been destroyed several weeks earlier at the Battle of Trafalgar...
. The British took her into service as HMS Brave. She was broken up in 1816.
French service
On 6 July 1801 she fought in the Battle of Algeciras under captain Landais Lalonde, who was killed in the action. Command then transferred to capitaine de frégate Amable TroudeAmable Troude
Amable Gilles Troude was a French Navy officer, hero of the Napoleonic wars.- Early career :...
, formerly second in command of the Dessaix
French ship Tyrannicide (1793)
Tyrannicide was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.In 1794, under Alain Joseph Dordelin, she took part in the Glorious First of June...
HMS Thames (1758)
HMS Thames was a 32-gun Richmond-class fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy built by Henry Adams and launched at Bucklers Hard in 1758. She served in several wars, including for some four years in French service after her capture. She was recaptured in 1796 and was broken up in 1803.-British...
and the ships of the line HMS Venerable
HMS Venerable (1784)
HMS Venerable was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 19 April 1784 at Blackwall Yard.In 1797, Venerable served as Admiral Duncan's flagship at the Battle of Camperdown....
(74), HMS Caesar
HMS Caesar (1793)
HMS Caesar, also Cæsar, was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 16 November 1793 at Plymouth. She was designed by Sir Edward Hunt, and was the only ship built to her draught.-Battle of Algeciras Bay:...
(80) and HMS Superb
HMS Superb (1798)
HMS Superb was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, and the fourth vessel to bear the name. She was launched on 19 March 1798 from Northfleet, and was eventually broken up in 1826. Superb is mostly associated with Richard Goodwin Keats who commanded her as captain from 1801 until...
(74). She let the HMS Venerable
HMS Venerable (1784)
HMS Venerable was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 19 April 1784 at Blackwall Yard.In 1797, Venerable served as Admiral Duncan's flagship at the Battle of Camperdown....
catch on and took her and heavy fire, leaving her dismasted and in danger of sinking. The rest of the British squadron had to come to aid the Venerable, allowing the Formidable to escape to Cádiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
, acclaimed by the population. Troude was immediately promoted to capitaine de vaisseau. Bonaparte
Bonaparte
The House of Bonaparte is an imperial and royal European dynasty founded by Napoleon I of France in 1804, a French military leader who rose to notability out of the French Revolution and transformed the French Republic into the First French Empire within five years of his coup d'état...
later met with him and called him "the French Horatius
Horatii
According to Livy, the Horatii were male triplets from Rome. During a war between Rome and Alba Longa during the reign of Tullus Hostilius , it was agreed that settlement of the war would depend on the outcome of a battle between the Horatii and the Curiatii...
".
In 1802 and 1803, Formidable served in Toulon under Admiral Latouche Tréville
Louis-René Levassor de Latouche Tréville
Louis-René Levassor de Latouche Tréville was a French admiral and a hero of the American Revolutionary War and of the Napoleonic wars.-Early life:...
.
On 17 January 1805 she went to sea under Admiral Villeneuve
Pierre-Charles Villeneuve
Pierre-Charles-Jean-Baptiste-Silvestre de Villeneuve was a French naval officer during the Napoleonic Wars. He was in command of the French and Spanish fleets defeated by Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar....
, together with ten other ships of the line and eight frigates, and on 20 January the fleet sailed for the Martinique in the Caribbean, which it reached on 13 May. The fleet captured Diamond Rock
Diamond Rock
Diamond Rock is a 175 meter high basalt island located south of Fort-de-France, the main port of the Caribbean island of Martinique. The uninhabited island is about three kilometers from Pointe Diamant. The island gets its name from the reflections that its sides cast at certain hours of the day,...
from the British, but Villeneuve returned to Europe on hearing that Nelson had arrived in the West Indies.
On 22 June 1805, the returning Franco-Spanish fleet was intercepted by a British fleet under Sir Robert Calder
Robert Calder
Admiral Sir Robert Calder, 1st Baronet, KCB was a British naval officer who served in the Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.-Early life:...
, resulting in the Battle of Cape Finisterre
Battle of Cape Finisterre (1805)
In the Battle of Cape Finisterre off Galicia, Spain, the British fleet under Admiral Robert Calder fought an indecisive naval battle against the Combined Franco-Spanish fleet which was returning from the West Indies...
. After a violent artillery exchange and the capture of two of the Spanish ships, the fleets were separated in the fog. Exhausted after six months at sea, the fleet anchored in Cádiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
to rest and refit. With his command under question and planning to meet the British fleet to gain a decisive victory, Villeneuve left Cádiz and met the British fleet near Cape Trafalgar
Cape Trafalgar
Cape Trafalgar is a headland in the Province of Cádiz in the south-west of Spain. It lies on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean, northwest of the Strait of Gibraltar...
.
Formidable was the flagship of vice-admiral Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley
Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley
Vice-Admiral Count Pierre-Etienne-René-Marie Dumanoir Le Pelley was a French Navy officer, best known for commanding the vanguard of the French fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar.- Early career :...
, who commanded the six-ship vanguard of the French fleet, along with Formidable
French ship Formidable
A number of ships of the French Navy have born the name Formidable, honouring the trait of inspiring fear in the enemy. Among them:* Formidable , a 96-gun ship of the line* Formidable , a 80-gun ship of the line...
, Scipion
French ship Scipion
Scipion was a 74-gun French ship of the line, built at Lorient to a design by Jacques Noel Sane. She was launched as Orient in late 1798, and renamed Scipion in 1801....
, Duguay-Trouin
HMS Implacable (1805)
HMS Implacable was a 74-gun third rate of the Royal Navy. She was originally the French Navy's Téméraire-class ship of the line Duguay-Trouin, launched in 1800....
, Mont-Blanc
French ship Mont-Blanc
A number of French ships of have born the name Mont-Blanc, in honour of the Mont-Blanc mountain. Among them,* The ship of the line Mont-Blanc...
, Intrépide
French ship Intrépide
Intrépide was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the French navy. She was originally built at Ferrol, Spain in 1799 as the Spanish ship of the line Intrepido, and later was sold to France in 1800....
and Neptune
French ship Neptune
Neptune was a Bucentaure-class 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. Built during the last years of the French Revolutionary Wars she was launched at the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars...
. The vanguard was kept as a reserve, and joined the battle around 16:00. They only sailed close to the battle and fired a few shots.
On 4 November 1805 at the Battle of Cape Ortegal
Battle of Cape Ortegal
The Battle of Cape Ortegal was the final action of the Trafalgar Campaign, and was fought between a squadron of the Royal Navy and a remnant of the fleet that had been destroyed several weeks earlier at the Battle of Trafalgar...
, British Admiral Sir Richard Strachan
Sir Richard Strachan, 6th Baronet
Sir Richard John Strachan, 6th Baronet GCB was a British officer of the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, eventually rising to the rank of Admiral.-Childhood:...
, with Caesar
HMS Caesar (1793)
HMS Caesar, also Cæsar, was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 16 November 1793 at Plymouth. She was designed by Sir Edward Hunt, and was the only ship built to her draught.-Battle of Algeciras Bay:...
, Hero
HMS Hero (1803)
HMS Hero was a 74-gun third rate of the Royal Navy, launched on 18 August 1803 at Blackwall Yard.She took part in Admiral Robert Calder's action at the Battle of Cape Finisterre in 1805....
, Courageux
HMS Courageux (1800)
HMS Courageux was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 26 March 1800 at Deptford. She was designed by Sir John Henslow as one of the large class 74s, and was the only ship built to her draught...
, Namur
HMS Namur (1756)
HMS Namur was a 90-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Chatham Dockyard to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment as amended in 1750, and launched on 3 March 1756....
and four frigates, defeated and captured what remained of the squadron. Formidable was taken and commissioned in the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
as HMS Brave.