French Third Rate ship of the line 'Le Tonnant' (1743)

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Le Tonnant	1992
Nominal Guns	80	NNF-1715
Nationality	Royaume de France
Operator	Marine Royale
Keel Laid Down	10.1740	NNF-1715
Launched	17.11.1743	NNF-1715
First Commissioned	6.1744	NNF-1715
How acquired	Purpose built	NNF-1715
Shipyard	Toulon - Provence	NNF-1715
Constructor	François Coulomb (1653/54-1716/17)	NNF-1715
Category	Third Rate	NNF-1715
Ship Type	Ship of the Line	NNF-1715
Sailing Rig	Ship Rigged	NNF-1715
Broken Up	11.1780	NNF-1715

Dimensions

DimensionMeasurementTypeMetric EquivalentNNF-1715
Length of Gundeck168'French Feet (Pied du Roi)54.5696 (179′ 0″ Imperial)
Length of Keel154'French Feet (Pied du Roi)50.0212 (164′ 1″ Imperial)
Breadth46'French Feet (Pied du Roi)14.9679 (49′ 1″ Imperial)
Depth in Hold23'French Feet (Pied du Roi)7.4975 (24′ 7″ Imperial)

Armament

6.1744Broadside Weight = 900 French Livre (971.28 lbs 440.55 kg)NNF-1715
Lower Gun Deck30 French 36-Pounder
Upper Gun Deck32 French 18-Pounder
Quarterdeck/Forecastle18 French 8-Pounder

Crew Complement

Date# of MenNotesSource
6.17447866 officers, 780 menNNF-1715

2 Commanding Officers

DatesRankNameSource
29.4.1759 - 21.1.1760Capitaine de VaisseauAntoine de Marges de Saint-Victoret (1712-1788)ref:6721773Capitaine de VaisseauHenri de Rochemore (1702-1778)FWIKI

2 Flag Officers

DatesRankNameSource
1759Contre-AmiralJoseph de Bauffremont (1714-1781)FWIKI2.4.1778 - 16.8.1779Chef d'escadre Pierre Claude Hocdenau (Comte de Breugnon) (1771-1792)ref:1275

1 Petty Officer

DatesRatingNameSource
10.1747 - 1748Garde de la MarineFrançois-Pierre Huon de Kermadec (1726-1787)ref:673

Service History

DateEventSource
14.10.17472nd Battle of Cape Finisterre
8.1757Louisbourg Expedition
20.11.1759Battle of Quiberon Bay
14.12.1778Battle of St. Lucia
6.7.1779Battle of Grenada
4.1780Condemned at RochefortNNF-1715

Sources

IDNameAuthorType

NNF-1715Alain Demerliac, Book

ref:672 Web Site

FWIKIVarious, Web Site

ref:1275 Web Site

ref:673 Web Site

Previous comments on this page

Posted by Cy on Thursday 18th of July 2019 08:10

Thanks Albert, looks like a typo and has been corrected

Posted by Albert Parker on Wednesday 17th of July 2019 20:25

The source cited gives the length of Tonnant's gun deck as 168 French feet = 54.5729 meters = 179'½" British; so does Winfield and Roberts, French Warships in the Age of Sail, 1626-1786.

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