Pompée was a Téméraire

Téméraire class ship of the line

The Téméraire class ships of the line was a class of 107 74-gun ships of the line built between 1782 and 1813 for the French navy. The type was and remains the most numerous class of capital ship ever built....

-class 74-gun

Seventy-four (ship)

The "seventy-four" was a type of two-decked sailing ship of the line nominally carrying 74 guns. Originally developed by the French Navy in the mid-18th century, the design proved to be a good balance between firepower and sailing qualities, and was adopted by the British Royal Navy , as well as...

 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

French Navy

The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...

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During the Siege of Toulon

Siege of Toulon

The Siege of Toulon was an early Republican victory over a Royalist rebellion in the Southern French city of Toulon. It is also often known as the Fall of Toulon.-Context:...

, Captain Poulain, her commanding officer, joined the British. She fled Toulon when the city fell to the French Republicans and sailed to Britain.

She was 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 Pompee. Under Captain Charles Stirling

Charles Stirling

Sir Charles Stirling was a vice-admiral in the Royal Navy.-Early life and career:Charles Stirling was born in London on 28 April 1760 and baptised at St. Albans on 15 May. The son of Admiral Sir Walter Stirling, he was born into a family with a long and proud naval tradition. Stirling joined the...

, she fought at the Battle of Algeciras Bay

Battle of Algeciras Bay

The Battle of Algeciras Bay refers to two separate battles in July 1801 between an allied French-Spanish fleet and the British near Gibraltar. In the first battle, the French drove off an attack by the larger British fleet and captured one ship of the line...

. In 1807 the ship, under the command of Captain Richard Dacres

Richard Dacres (Royal Navy officer)

Sir Richard Dacres, GCH was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars...

 served in the Mediterranean squadron under Rear-Admiral Sir Sydney Smith, as part of the Vice-Admiral Duckworth's

John Thomas Duckworth

Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth, 1st Baronet, GCB was a British naval officer, serving during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, as the Governor of Newfoundland during the War of 1812, and a member of the British House of Commons during his...

 Dardanelles Operation

Dardanelles Operation

The Dardanelles Operation was the Royal Navy's unsuccessful attempt to impose British demands on the Ottoman Empire as part of the Anglo-Turkish War ....

 and later the Alexandria expedition of 1807.

In late 1808 the Pompée was in the Caribbean, and took part in the attack on Martinique in January 1809

She later captured her sister-ship Hautpoul and the brig Pylade on 5 November 1813.

She was eventually used as a prison hulk in Portsmouth

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

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The acquisition of Pompée allowed the British to design a copy of the Téméraire class

Téméraire class ship of the line

The Téméraire class ships of the line was a class of 107 74-gun ships of the line built between 1782 and 1813 for the French navy. The type was and remains the most numerous class of capital ship ever built....

, the Pompée class

Pompée class ship of the line

The Pompée-class ships of the line were a class of two 74-gun third rates. They were built for the Royal Navy to the lines of the French ship , a Téméraire class ship of the line which had been captured by Britain in 1793.-Ships:...

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