Designed by Blaise Ollivier and built by him until his death in October 1746, then completed by Luc Coulomb, her keel was laid down at Brest on 14 November 1745 towards the end of the War of the Austrian Succession and she was launched on 24 March 1747. The fifth ship of this type to be built by the French Navy, she was designed to the norms set for ships of the line by French shipbuilders in the 1740s to try to match the cost, armament and maneuverability of their British counterparts, since the Royal Navy had had a greater number of ships than the French since the end of the wars of Louis XIV.[3] Without being standardized, dozens of French 74-gun ships were based on these norms right up until the start of the 19th century, slowly evolving to match new shipbuilding technologies and the wishes of naval tacticians and strategists.
Her 74 guns comprised 28 x 36-pounders on the lower deck, 30 x 18-pounders on the upper deck, 10 x 8-pounders on the quarterdeck and 6 x 8-pounders on the forecastle.
ServiceEdit
War of the Austrian SuccessionEdit
Intrépide fought at the Second Battle of Cape Finisterre on 25 October 1747, forming part of Henri-François des Herbiers's division, which also included the admiral's flagship the 80-gun Tonnant, the 74-gun Monarque and Terrible, four 56-to-68 gun ships and a 26-gun frigate. They were charged with escorting a convoy of over 250 merchant vessels to the Antilles and faced Edward Hawke and his 14-ship squadron.
The engagement lasted nearly seven hours and saw six French ships captured. Heading the French line and captained by the experienced commander de Vaudreuil, Intrépide was little damaged, since she was the last ship attacked by the British squadron. She escaped her pursuers and saved Tonnant, allowing her to disengage. The following dawn Intrépide managed to take Tonnant in tow. Their success was not only down to their commanders but also the fact that they were new powerful ships, easier to handle and with more modern armament than older ships in the British and French fleets. They arrived at Brest on 9 November 1747 whilst the convoy safely reached the Antilles.
She was used as the test-bed for an inclining experiment (the first such ever recorded) which was performed in May 1748 by François-Guillaume Clairain-Deslauriers.
Seven Years' WarEdit
In 1756 Intrépide was put under the command of Guy François de Kersaint and made the flagship of a fleet charged with capturing all British ships operating off the coast of Guinea. This proved a success and Intrépide moved to the Antilles, where she was attacked near Caicos on 21 October 1757 by three British ships in the Battle of Cap-Français. This lasted several hours and Intrépide was almost completely dismasted, whilst her captain was wounded twice, though she managed to force the British ships to retreat.
In 1759 she joined a twenty-one ship invasion fleet under maréchal de Conflans. She took part in the Battle of Les Cardinaux on 20 November that year under the command of Charles Le Mercerel de Chasteloger, joining Soleil-Royal in her attack on the British flagship HMS Royal George. On the day after the French defeat Intrépide and seven other ships left the combat area to take refuge at Rochefort.
Intrépide subsequently underwent a rebuilding at Brest from 1758 to April 1759, carried out by Léon-Michel Guignace.
American Revolutionary WarEdit
From January 1776 to March 1778 Intrépide was commanded by François Joseph Paul de Grasse. She took part in the Battle of Ushant on 27 July 1778 under the command of Châteauvert in the blue squadron, which formed the French fleet's rearguard and was commanded by Louis-Philippe d'Orléans. In 1780 she joined Guichen's fleet sent to fight in the Antilles. On 17 April 1780, under the command of Parscau-Plessix, she fought in the battle of Martinique, again in the rearguard. She was finally lost on 22 July 1781 off Cap Français, when a barrel of local rum caught fire and the ship was burned and sunk.[4][5] Several crew members drowned.[6]
CitationsEdit
^The French (pre-metric) foot was 6.575% longer than the contemporary British unit of measurement of that name.
^Martine Acerra and André Zysberg, L’essor des marines de guerre européennes : 1680-1790, Paris, éditions SEDES, coll. « Regards sur l'histoire », 1997, 298 p. (ISBN2-7181-9515-0), pages 90-91
Kérallain, R. (1928). "Bougainville à l'armée du Cte de Grasse". Journal de la société des américanistes. 20 (20): 1–70. doi:10.3406/jsa.1928.3639. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
Jean Meyer and Martine Acerra, Histoire de la marine française, Rennes, éditions Ouest-France, 1994
Hennequin, Joseph François Gabriel (1835). Biographie maritime ou notices historiques sur la vie et les campagnes des marins célèbres français et étrangers (in French). Vol. 3. Paris: Regnault éditeur. p. 357-341. OCLC 222612383.
Lacour-Gayet, Georges (1910) [1902]. La Marine militaire de la France sous le règne de Louis XV (in French) (revue et augmentée ed.). Honoré Champion éditeur.
Lacour-Gayet, Georges (1905). La marine militaire de la France sous le règne de Louis XVI. Paris: Honoré Champion.
Winfield, Rif; Roberts, Stephen S (2017). French Warships in the Age of Sail 1626-1786: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN978-1-4738-9351-1.
Winfield, Rif; Roberts, Stephen S (2015). French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786—1862: Design Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN978-1-8483-2204-2.
Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. Vol. 1. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. ISBN978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922. (1671-1870)
October 19, 2023
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For other ships with the same name see French ship Intrepide Intrepide was a 74 gun ship of the line of the French Navy 2 She was of three ships of the Monarque class all launched in 1747 the others being Monarque and Sceptre 2 A French 74 gun ship of the same type as Intrepide drawn by Nicolas Ozanne HistoryFranceNameIntrepideBuilderBlaise Ollivier and Luc Coulomb Brest DockyardLaid downJanuary 1745Launched24 March 1747CommissionedAugust 1747FateBurnt by accident on 22 July 1781General characteristicsClass and typeMonarque class 74 gun ship of the lineLength166 French feet 1 Beam43 French feetDraught21 French feetDepth of hold20 French feetPropulsionSailsSail planFull rigged shipComplement734 in wartime 650 peacetime 6 10 officersArmament74 guns of various weights of shot Contents 1 Design 2 Service 2 1 War of the Austrian Succession 2 2 Seven Years War 2 3 American Revolutionary War 3 Citations 4 ReferencesDesign EditDesigned by Blaise Ollivier and built by him until his death in October 1746 then completed by Luc Coulomb her keel was laid down at Brest on 14 November 1745 towards the end of the War of the Austrian Succession and she was launched on 24 March 1747 The fifth ship of this type to be built by the French Navy she was designed to the norms set for ships of the line by French shipbuilders in the 1740s to try to match the cost armament and maneuverability of their British counterparts since the Royal Navy had had a greater number of ships than the French since the end of the wars of Louis XIV 3 Without being standardized dozens of French 74 gun ships were based on these norms right up until the start of the 19th century slowly evolving to match new shipbuilding technologies and the wishes of naval tacticians and strategists Her 74 guns comprised 28 x 36 pounders on the lower deck 30 x 18 pounders on the upper deck 10 x 8 pounders on the quarterdeck and 6 x 8 pounders on the forecastle Service EditWar of the Austrian Succession Edit Intrepide fought at the Second Battle of Cape Finisterre on 25 October 1747 forming part of Henri Francois des Herbiers s division which also included the admiral s flagship the 80 gun Tonnant the 74 gun Monarque and Terrible four 56 to 68 gun ships and a 26 gun frigate They were charged with escorting a convoy of over 250 merchant vessels to the Antilles and faced Edward Hawke and his 14 ship squadron The engagement lasted nearly seven hours and saw six French ships captured Heading the French line and captained by the experienced commander de Vaudreuil Intrepide was little damaged since she was the last ship attacked by the British squadron She escaped her pursuers and saved Tonnant allowing her to disengage The following dawn Intrepide managed to take Tonnant in tow Their success was not only down to their commanders but also the fact that they were new powerful ships easier to handle and with more modern armament than older ships in the British and French fleets They arrived at Brest on 9 November 1747 whilst the convoy safely reached the Antilles She was used as the test bed for an inclining experiment the first such ever recorded which was performed in May 1748 by Francois Guillaume Clairain Deslauriers Seven Years War Edit In 1756 Intrepide was put under the command of Guy Francois de Kersaint and made the flagship of a fleet charged with capturing all British ships operating off the coast of Guinea This proved a success and Intrepide moved to the Antilles where she was attacked near Caicos on 21 October 1757 by three British ships in the Battle of Cap Francais This lasted several hours and Intrepide was almost completely dismasted whilst her captain was wounded twice though she managed to force the British ships to retreat In 1759 she joined a twenty one ship invasion fleet under marechal de Conflans She took part in the Battle of Les Cardinaux on 20 November that year under the command of Charles Le Mercerel de Chasteloger joining Soleil Royal in her attack on the British flagship HMS Royal George On the day after the French defeat Intrepide and seven other ships left the combat area to take refuge at Rochefort Intrepide subsequently underwent a rebuilding at Brest from 1758 to April 1759 carried out by Leon Michel Guignace American Revolutionary War Edit From January 1776 to March 1778 Intrepide was commanded by Francois Joseph Paul de Grasse She took part in the Battle of Ushant on 27 July 1778 under the command of Chateauvert in the blue squadron which formed the French fleet s rearguard and was commanded by Louis Philippe d Orleans In 1780 she joined Guichen s fleet sent to fight in the Antilles On 17 April 1780 under the command of Parscau Plessix she fought in the battle of Martinique again in the rearguard She was finally lost on 22 July 1781 off Cap Francais when a barrel of local rum caught fire and the ship was burned and sunk 4 5 Several crew members drowned 6 Citations Edit The French pre metric foot was 6 575 longer than the contemporary British unit of measurement of that name a b Roche vol 1 p 258 Martine Acerra and Andre Zysberg L essor des marines de guerre europeennes 1680 1790 Paris editions SEDES coll Regards sur l histoire 1997 298 p ISBN 2 7181 9515 0 pages 90 91 Hennequin 1835 p 539 Lacour Gayet 1910 p 396 Kerallain 1928 p 13 References EditKerallain R 1928 Bougainville a l armee du Cte de Grasse Journal de la societe des americanistes 20 20 1 70 doi 10 3406 jsa 1928 3639 Retrieved 29 April 2020 Jean Meyer and Martine Acerra Histoire de la marine francaise Rennes editions Ouest France 1994 Hennequin Joseph Francois Gabriel 1835 Biographie maritime ou notices historiques sur la vie et les campagnes des marins celebres francais et etrangers in French Vol 3 Paris Regnault editeur p 357 341 OCLC 222612383 Lacour Gayet Georges 1910 1902 La Marine militaire de la France sous le regne de Louis XV in French revue et augmentee ed Honore Champion editeur Lacour Gayet Georges 1905 La marine militaire de la France sous le regne de Louis XVI Paris Honore Champion Winfield Rif Roberts Stephen S 2017 French Warships in the Age of Sail 1626 1786 Design Construction Careers and Fates Seaforth ISBN 978 1 4738 9351 1 Winfield Rif Roberts Stephen S 2015 French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786 1862 Design Construction Careers and Fates Seaforth ISBN 978 1 8483 2204 2 Roche Jean Michel 2005 Dictionnaire des batiments de la flotte de guerre francaise de Colbert a nos jours Vol 1 Group Retozel Maury Millau ISBN 978 2 9525917 0 6 OCLC 165892922 1671 1870 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title French ship Intrepide 1747 amp oldid 1166720973, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
