The action of 31 January 1748 was a minor naval battle of the

War of Austrian Succession War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

between two British Royal naval ships and a French naval ship of the line. The battle ended with the capture of the French ship of the line ''Le Magnanime''. In January 1748, ''Le Magnanime'' left

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress *Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria *Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France **Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Brest, ...

for the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around t ...

. She was partially dismasted in a storm off the coast of

Ushant Ushant (; br, Eusa, ; french: Ouessant, ) is a French island at the southwestern end of the English Channel which marks the westernmost point of metropolitan France. It belongs to Brittany and, in medieval terms, Léon. In lower tiers of governm ...

and while limping back to Brest, she was spotted by a British fleet under

Edward Hawke Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke, KB, PC (21 February 1705 – 17 October 1781), of Scarthingwell Hall in the parish of Towton, near Tadcaster, Yorkshire, was a Royal Navy officer. As captain of the third-rate , he took part in the Battle of ...

. All sail was immediately made; under Captain Robert Harland having at 1 am closed with the chase commenced the action and a running fight of six hours duration ensued. The rear admiral having observed the size of the ship sent the sixty gun ship under Captain Stevens to proceed to the ''Nottinghams assistance. By the time the ''Portland'' had arrived up the French ship which proved to be the ''Magnanime'' a large class 74 gun ship commanded by the Marquis d'Albert after receiving a few shot from the ''Portland'' was forced to strike The ''Magnanime'' out of a crew of 686 men had 45 killed and 105 wounded; ''Nottingham'' had 16 killed and 18 wounded while ''Portland'', catching up and joining the fight an hour later, had only 4 wounded. ''Magnanime'' being a new ship of less than four years old was added to the British navy under the same name.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * * {{cite book , last=Winfield , first=Rif , year=2007 , title=British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates , publisher=Seaforth , isbn=978-1-84415-700-6 Conflicts in 1748 Action of 31 January 1748 Naval battles involving Great Britain Naval battles involving France 1748 in Europe