The ''Fendant'' 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 ...

. Designed by

Antoine Groignard Antoine Groignard (4 February 1727 – 26 July 1799), was a French naval constructor who developed standard designs for French war ships, and built and improved the dry docks at the French naval bases in Toulon and Brest. Family Groignard was so ...

, she was the first ship to be built under a roof cover. She served in Suffren's campaign against the British in India during the

American Revolutionary War 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 was wrecked in 1783 near

Pondicherry Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...

Career

Started in May 1772 on a design by

, construction of ''Fendant'' proceeded slowly, due to shortages in

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...

in Rochefort. In November 1771, a permanent roof was erected over her stacks, as well as that of '' Réfléchi'', making the first ships to be completed in a covered dock. ''Fendant'' was commissioned in December 1776 under Captain Louis de Rigaud de Vaudreuil. She took part in the Battle of Ushant, where she sustained five killed and 27 wounded. ''Fendant'' served in the

Anglo-French War The Anglo-French Wars were a series of conflicts between England (and after 1707, Britain) and France, including: Middle Ages High Middle Ages * Anglo-French War (1109–1113) – first conflict between the Capetian Dynasty and the House of Norma ...

, notably taking part in the

Battle of Grenada The Battle of Grenada took place on 6 July 1779 during the American Revolutionary War in the West Indies between the British Royal Navy and the French Navy, just off the coast of Grenada. The British fleet of Admiral John Byron (the grandfath ...

. In July 1781, she fought in the Invasion of Minorca before being sent to the Indian Ocean in November to reinforce Suffren's squadron. Arrived there in March 1782, ''Fendant'' took part in the Battle of Cuddalore on 20 June 1783 as the flagship of Antoine de Thomassin de Peynier,

Captain of the Fleet In the Royal Navy of the 18th and 19th centuries a captain of the fleet could be appointed to assist an admiral when the admiral had ten or more ships to command. The equivalent post was called fleet captain in the U.S. Navy of the 18th and 19th ...

under Read-Admiral Suffren, with

Armand de Saint-Félix Armand de Saint-Félix (20 September 1737 – 13 August 1819) was a French Navy officer and admiral. Biography Saint-Félix joined the Navy in 1755. he served on the 16-gun ''Calypso'', where he took part in the Battle of Quiberon Bay on 20 No ...

flag captain In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a "captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "First ...

. Later the year, ''Fendant'' ran aground near

and became a total loss.

Legacy

A model of ''Fendant'' is on display at the Musée de la Marine in Rochefort.

Citations

References

* * Ships of the line of the French Navy Shipwrecks in the Bay of Bengal Maritime incidents in 1783 1776 ships {{France-line-ship-stub