French ship Diadème (1756)

French Ship Diadéme (1756) image
History
French Navy Ensign France
NameDiadème
NamesakeDiadem
Ordered10 September 1755 [1]
BuilderBrest [1]
Laid downSeptember 1755 [1]
Launched26 July 1756 [1]
CommissionedNovember 1756 [1]
Decommissioned1797
RenamedBrutus on 29 September 1792 [1]
FateBroken up, 1797 [1]
General characteristics
Class and typeDiadème-class ship of the line
Tons burthen1500 tonneaux
Length54.6 m (179 ft 2 in)
Beam14.1 m (46 ft 3 in)
Draught6.8 m (22 ft 4 in)
PropulsionSail
Armament
ArmourTimber

Diadème was the lead ship of the Diadème-class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.

Career[edit]

On 17 March 1757, along with the 64-gun Éveillé, she captured HMS Greenwich, commanded by Captain Robert Roddam, off Saint-Domingue. In 1761, she was under Breugnon.[2]

In 1780, under Picot de Dampierre, she was part of La Motte-Piquet's division, along with Annibal, Amphion and Réfléchi.

She took part in the naval operations in the American Revolutionary War under de Grasse, notably fighting at the Battle of the Chesapeake under Louis Augustin de Monteclerc.[3][4]

At the Battle of the Saintes on 12 April 1782 it was the gap between Diadème and the mastless Glorieux which allowed HMS Formidable to break the French line.[5] She was severely damaged by Formidable and withdrew from the battle. on 25 April she was one of the ships ordered to rally at Cap Francois on San Domingo with de Vaudreuil's fleet.[6]

On 29 September 1792, she was renamed Brutus.[1]

She was razéed down to a 42-gun frigate in May 1794, and cruised off Groix under Captain Baud-Vachères.[1] She took part in the Bataille du 13 prairial an 2 in June,[7] taking the Indomptable in tow.[8][9]

Fate[edit]

Brutus was eventually broken up in 1797.[1]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Roche (2005), p. 149.
  2. ^ Archives nationales (2011), p. 165.
  3. ^ Contenson (1934), p. 228.
  4. ^ Troude (1867), p. 109.
  5. ^ Famous Fighters of the Fleet, Edward Fraser, 1904, p.122
  6. ^ Famous Fighters of the Fleet, Edward Fraser, 1904, p.127
  7. ^ Leplat, P. (2003). "Histoire de l'ile de Groix et de la famille Gourong". enguerrand.gourong.free.fr. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  8. ^ "Histofig - le site du jeu d'Histoire". php4-pro.online.net. Archived from the original on 11 July 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  9. ^ de Rambaud, Guy (2002). "Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse". histoire-empire.org. Archived from the original on 10 February 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2013.

References[edit]

External links[edit]