''Salomon'' was merchantman built in Nantes that the French Royal Navy purchased and commissioned as a

fluyt A fluyt (archaic Dutch: ''fluijt'' "flute"; ) is a Dutch type of sailing vessel originally designed by the shipwrights of Hoorn as a dedicated cargo vessel. Originating in the Dutch Republic in the 16th century, the vessel was designed to faci ...

. In 1781, she was reclassified as a

fireship A fire ship or fireship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, or gunpowder deliberately set on fire and steered (or, when possible, allowed to drift) into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy sh ...

and renamed ''Pulvérisateur'', and served in the Indian Ocean in Suffren's squadron under

capitaine de brûlot Capitaine, derived from the French for Captain, may also refer to: * Hogfish (''Lachnolaimus maximus''), an edible marine fish in the family Labridae, found in the western Atlantic * Nile perch (''Lates niloticus''), a freshwater fish in the famil ...

Villaret de Joyeuse Louis-Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse (29 May 1747Granier, p.87Some biographers give a date of 1750 (Levot, p.541). Granier quotes the registers of Sainte-Marie parish. – 24 July 1812Levot, p.544) was a French admiral. Villaret was born at Auch ...

Career

In August 1762, the French Navy purchased ''Salomon'' in Nantes. On 14 April, she arrived in Rochefort under Deschenais. In 1764, she was under Chevalier Charles de Pradel de Lamaze, who died aboard on 11 July 1764. From August 1767 she was used as a gunnery school at Ile d'Aix, before being loaned as a merchantman from 1768, first to private individuals, and then to the Compagnie de Cayenne in April 1770. In 1771, she underwent a refit in Rochefort. She was in Martinique in 1773 under Gilart de Larchantel. ''Salomon'' was sold in 1779. In August 1781, she was in India when the French Navy repurchased her. In October, she became the fireship ''Pulvérisateur'' under

, part of the squadron under Suffren. On 24 April 1782, ''Pulvérisateur'', after encountering ''Fine'', joined with Suffren's squadron and delivered copies of the despatches originally sent by Navy Minister Castrie on 21 July 1781, and that had been destroyed with ''Expédition''. ''Pulvérisateur'' took part in the Battle of Negapatam on 6 July 1782. After the battle, her rigging was dismantled to replace parts on Suffren's ships of the line, and she received herself parts from the rigging of ''Yarmouth'' and from another prize as replacement. On 23 September 1782, in the wake of the

Battle of Trincomalee A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, Suffren sent ''Pulvérisateur'' to Isle de France under M. Le Fer to bring despatches to Governor

François de Souillac François de Peynier, vicomte de Souillac was born on 2 July 1732 in Périgord. He was Governor of Isle Bourbon (now Réunion), Governor General of the Mascarene Islands and Pondichéry. Biography Souillac joined the Navy as a Garde-Marine o ...

. Having requested to be relieved of duty, captains Tromelin, Saint-Félix, Morard de Galles and la Landelle-Roscanvec came aboard.

Fate

''Pulvérisateur'' was wrecked in 1784.

Notes, citations, and references

Notes Citations References * * External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Salomon (1779) Ships built in France 1762 ships Captured ships Maritime incidents in 1784