''Borée'' was a
74-gun
The "seventy-four" was a type of two- decked sailing ship of the line, which nominally carried 74 guns. It was developed by the French navy in the 1740s, replacing earlier classes of 60- and 62-gun ships, as a larger complement to the recently-de ...
ship of the line of 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 ...
.
Design and construction
Designed based on plans by
Jacques-Noël Sané
Jacques-Noël Sané (18 February 1740, Brest – 22 August 1831, Paris) was a French naval engineer. He was the conceptor of standardised designs for ships of the line and frigates fielded by the French Navy in the 1780s, which served during the ...
, and updated by Maillot, she and her sister (
''Pluton'') were the prototypes of a new variant of the ''Téméraire'' class designed to have a smaller draught, allowing the production of ships of the line in the shallow harbour of
Antwerp.
The construction of ''Borée'' was delayed due to a lack of timber, causing her completion date to fall behind that of , a sistership then under construction. ''Borée'' was retro-fitted with improvements introduced on ''Pluton''.
Career
In May 1805, ''Borée'' was commissioned and Captain
took command on 29 August.
[Quintin, p.341-342] She was part of the Mediterranean squadron under Vice-Admiral
Ganteaume, in Toulon.
From February to April 1808, ''Borée'' took part in
Ganteaume's expedition to Corfu.
In April 1809, she took part in the escort of a convoy to Barcelona, in a division under Rear-Admiral
Cosmao.
In October 1809, she resumed escort duties for a convoy to Barcelona, this time in a division under Rear-Admiral
Baudin. The fleet departed Toulon on 21st, In the morning of the 23rd, the convoy was intercepted by a British squadron under Admiral
Collingwood; Baudin ordered the convoy to escape to the bay of
Roses, while the escort attempted to distract the British. By noon, fourteen British ships were chasing the three French ships of the line and two frigates. In the morning of 24th, the French squadron anchored close to the coast; it departed the next day at 5, and Baudin gave his captains liberty of manoeuvre to negotiate the shallow waters.
[Troude, p.57]
''Borée'' reached deep waters, accompanied by the frigate
''Pauline'', and was chased by and
''Leviathan''; the running
Battle of Maguelone
The Battle of Maguelone was a minor naval action that occurred in late October 1809, during the Peninsular War, between the escort of a French convoy, comprising three ships of the line and two frigates, and a six-ship squadron of the Royal N ...
ensued, Senes attempting to moor his ship off
Sète. The aviso ''Provençale'' had witnessed the fight and her captain, Ensign Vallat, proposed to lead ''Borée'' into the harbour of Sète. The delicate manoeuvre succeeded, putting ''Borée'' out of reach of the British squadron.
''Borée'' and ''Pauline'' returned to Toulon, where they arrived on 19 November.
[Troude, p.58]
In 1811, ''Borée'' remained in Toulon with the Mediterranean squadron, under Senez.
[Troude, p.119] On 18 November 1812, Captain
Jean-Michel Mahé
Jean-Michel Mahé (12 October 1776, in Carhaix – 20 February 1833, in Nantes) was a French Navy officer and captain.
Career
Mahé started his career in the merchant Navy in 1789, and became an Midshipman in the Navy on 16 April 1794. He serve ...
took command of ''Borée'', part of the squadron commanded by Vice-Admiral
Émeriau.
[Quintin, p.254] He captained ''Borée'' during the
action of 5 November 1813
The action of 5 November 1813 was a brief naval clash during the Napoleonic Wars, between part of the British Mediterranean Fleet led by Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Pellew, and a French force under Rear-Admiral Julien Cosmao-Kerjulien. The engagemen ...
and until her decommissioning on 13 June 1814.
''Borée'' remained decommissioned in Toulon until 1828, when she was struck and broken up.
Notes and references
References
Bibliography
*
*
* Fonds Marine. Campagnes (opérations ; divisions et stations navales ; missions diverses). Inventaire de la sous-série Marine BB4. Tome deuxième : BB4 1 à 482 (1790-1826
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boree
Ships of the line of the French Navy
Téméraire-class ships of the line
1805 ships
Ships built in France