Orient was an 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, built by Antoine Groignard.
 Orient being reduced to a 74-gun
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| History | |
|---|---|
.svg){kind=small} France | |
| Name | Orient |
| Laid down | April 1756 [1] |
| Launched | 9 October 1756 [1] |
| Acquired | May 1759 [1] |
| Fate | Wrecked, February 1782 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 3000 tons[2] |
| Length | 56.5 metres [1] |
| Beam | 14.5 metres [1] |
| Draught | 6.8 metres [1] |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Complement |
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| Armament |
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Career
editOrient was built in Lorient for the French East India Company by Antoine Groignard,[3] from April 1756[Note 1] to August 1759.[2] The French Royal Navy purchased her in May 1759.[2] Originally intended as a 80-gun, she was reduced to a 74-gun in early 1766.[2]
On 14 November 1759, under Captain Guébriant, Orient was part of a 20-ship fleet under Hubert de Brienne attempting invasion of Cornwall. She took part in the subsequent Battle of Quiberon Bay.[1]
Orient underwent a refit in Brest in 1766,[1] and again from 1777 to April 1778.[2] The same year, with the outbreak of the Anglo-French War, she took part in the Battle of Ushant.[1]
On 28 December 1778, under Thomas d'Estienne d'Orves, she sailed from Brest to reinforce the French colony of Isle de France (Mauritius) [5] arriving in September 1779, her crew suffering from scurvy.[1] In 1779, she captured the British privateer Vigilant[1] of Bristol, Marshall, master, and brought her to Lorient.[6]
By April 1781, Estienne d'Orves's health had deteriorated to the point where First Officer Bolle was in effective command. [7] After Estienne d'Orves died on 9 February 1782, Suffren put Captain Lapallière[Note 2] in command.[8]
In 1782, as present at the Battle of Negapatam on 6 July 1782, although she did not take part in the action, and took part in the Battle of Trincomalee between 25 August and 3 September 1782. [1]
In the wake of the Battle of Trincomalee, she was wrecked near Trincomalee in Sri Lanka on 8 September 1782, [1] around 0400, when Ensign Jean Anne Christy de La Pallière insisted to sail on his tack rather to effect a turn as the master pilot advised. Orient touched a rock at Pointe-Sale and stopped. She fired a gun to ask for help, and the rest of Suffren's squadron anchored nearby to provide assistance, but as Orient refloated, she ran into another rock nearby and became a total loss.[9] Part of her rigging was used as spare parts to repair Illustre and Héros. [10] The responsible officer, Ensign Christy de La Pallière, who was the son of Orient's Captain Jean Baptiste Christy de La Pallière, was dismissed from the Navy. [11]
Notes
editCitations
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Roche (2005), p. 335.
- ^ a b c d e f g Demerliac (2004), p. 17, n°17.
- ^ Binet (1911). "La construction du vaisseau de 100 canons 'La Bretagne'". Annales de Bretagne et des pays de l'Ouest. 27–2: 218. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- ^ Vaisseaux de ligne français de 1682 à 1780 « 2. du deuxième rang »
- ^ Cunat (1852), p. 73.
- ^ "The Marine List". Lloyd's List. No. 1020. 1 January 1779. hdl:2027/uc1.c3049060. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
- ^ Cunat (1852), p. 87.
- ^ a b Cunat (1852), p. 104.
- ^ Cunat (1852), p. 228.
- ^ Cunat (1852), p. 229.
- ^ Cunat (1852), p. 380.
References
edit- Cunat, Charles (1852). Histoire du Bailli de Suffren. Rennes: A. Marteville et Lefas. p. 447.
- Demerliac, Alain (2004). La Marine de Louis XVI: Nomenclature des Navires Français de 1774 à 1792 (in French). Éditions Ancre. ISBN 2-906381-23-3.
- Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. Vol. 1. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922. (1671-1870)