French Ship Régulus (1805) on:
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''Régulus'' was a 74-gun
1814 – L’agonie du vaisseau le Régulus au large de Meschers (17)
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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.
From 25 May 1801, her armament was upgraded to between 80 and 86 guns.
During the Atlantic campaign of 1806, she was the flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
of L'Hermite's squadron (also comprising frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
s and and corvette ) during L'Hermite's expedition. She patrolled from the Gulf of Guinea to Brazil and the Caribbean. On 6 January 1806 the French squadron captured the 16-gun sloop-of-war . The squadron also captured about 20 merchantman, notably including the ships and ''Plowers'' ().
In 1808, ''Régulus'' was in station with the Brest squadron.
In 1809, she was transferred to Rochefort. She famously took part in the Battle of the Basque Roads from 11 April 1809, under Captain Jean Jacques Étienne Lucas, Lucas, where she ran aground between Les Palles and Fouras. For 17 days, the stranded ship repelled assaults by the British, before refloating and returning to Rochefort on 29.
Fate
''Régulus'' was scuttled by fire on 7 April 1814 near Meschers-sur-Gironde to avoid capture by the British vessels and ./ref>
Legacy
The scuttling of ''Régulus'' occurred off a limestone cliff dotted by numerous caves. The site was named in honour of the ship.
References
* Ships of the line of the French Navy Téméraire-class ships of the line 1805 ships Maritime incidents in 1809 Maritime incidents in 1814 Ship fires Scuttled vessels Shipwrecks in the Bay of Biscay {{France-mil-ship-stub