The ''Dictateur'' was a 74-gun ''Pégase''-class

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...

of the French Navy, launched in 1782. She served during the last months of the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, and survived to see action in the French Revolutionary Wars.

Construction and early service

''Dictateur'' was laid down at Toulon Dockyard in July 1781 to a design by Antoine Groignard. Launched on 16 February 1782, she had entered service by August of that year. She was renamed ''Liberté'' in September 1792 by the Revolutionary government.

Capture

The ''Liberté'' was handed over by French Royalists at Toulon to the Anglo-Spanish occupying forces during the occupation of Toulon in August 1793, but was burnt at the subsequent evacuation of that port in December to avoid her being taken back into French service.

Notes

a. The six ships of the ''Pégase''-class proved unlucky in their encounters with the Royal Navy. ''Pégase'', the nameship of the class, was captured by the British in 1782, less than a year after being launched, and served in the Royal Navy until 1815. The other five - ''Liberté'', ''Suffisant'', ''Puissant'', ''Alcide'' and ''Censeur'' - were all taken by Royalist forces during the occupation of Toulon in 1793, with ''Liberté'' and ''Suffisant'' being burnt in the withdrawal, ''Puissant'' taken away and added to the Royal Navy, and ''Alcide'' and ''Censeur'' left to fall back into Republican hands. ''Alcide'' subsequently blew up while fighting a British fleet at the Naval Battle of Hyères Islands in July 1795.

Citations

References

* *Winfield, Rif and Roberts, Stephen (2015) ''French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786-1861: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates.'' Seaforth Publishing. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Dictateur (1782) Ships of the line of the French Navy 1782 ships Ships built in France Pégase-class ships of the line