''Foudre'' was a brig-rigged

aviso An ''aviso'' was originally a kind of dispatch boat or "advice boat", carrying orders before the development of effective remote communication. The term, derived from the Portuguese and Spanish word for "advice", "notice" or "warning", an ...

that the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

launched in 1796. The Royal Navy captured her in March 1799, only to have the French recapture her the next month. The British recaptured her in 1800, returned her to service, but sold her in 1801.

French career

Between 28 August 1794 and 11 December, ''Foudre'' was under the command of ''lieutenant de vaisseau non entretenu'' Lambert, and escorting a convoy from

Saint-Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, on the English Channel coast. The walled city had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the Alli ...

Saint-Valery-sur-Somme Saint-Valery-sur-Somme (, literally ''Saint-Valery on Somme''; pcd, Saint-Wary), commune in the Somme department, is a seaport and resort on the south bank of the River Somme estuary. The town's medieval character and ramparts, its Gothic churc ...

. From there between 14 January 1795 and 14 June, she escorted convoys between Cherbourg and Boulogne, before returning to Havre. Around April 1796 she escorted a convoy from Dieppe to Saint-Valery-sur-Somme.

Capture

''Foudre'' was one of a flotilla of seven vessels that Commodore Sir Sidney Smith in took at Acre on 18 March 1799, all of which the British took into service. At capture ''Foudre'' carried six guns and had a crew of 52 men. The flotilla of gun-vessels was carrying

siege artillery Siege artillery (also siege guns or siege cannons) are heavy guns designed to bombard fortifications, cities, and other fixed targets. They are distinct from field artillery and are a class of siege weapon capable of firing heavy cannonballs o ...

and other siege supplies to reinforce Napoleon's troops besieging Acre. Smith immediately put the guns and supplies to use to help the denizens of the city resist the French, and the gun-vessels to harass them. Smith anchored ''Tigre'' and HMS ''Theseus'', one on each side of the town, so their broadsides could assist the defence. The gun-vessels were of shallower draft and so could come in closer. Together, they helped repel repeated French assaults. The French attacked multiple times between 19 March and 10 May before Napoleon finally gave up. On 21 May he destroyed his siege train and retreated back to Egypt, having lost 2,200 men dead, 1,000 of them to the plague.

Recapture

However, on 9 April, the French frigate ''Courageuse'' recaptured ''Foudre'' and the French navy took her back into service.''Fonds Marine'', p.229.

Re-recapture

Then in 1800 the Royal Navy recaptured her and returned her to service as HMS ''Foudre''. She was sold in 1801.

Citations

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Foudre (1796) 1796 ships Brigs of the French Navy Captured ships Brigs of the Royal Navy