French shipIndomptable(1790)
 Indomptable(centre) atTrafalgar,betweenFougueuxandHMSBelleisle(left) andSanta AnaandHMSRoyal Sovereign(right)
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| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Indomitable |
| Builder | Brest |
| Laid down | September 1788 |
| Launched | 20 December 1790 |
| Completed | February 1791 |
| Fate | Wrecked 25/26 October 1805 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Tonnant-class80-gunship of the line |
| Displacement | 1800 tonnes |
| Length | 59.3 m (194 ft 7 in) |
| Beam | 15.3 m (50 ft 2 in) |
| Draught | 7.8 m (25 ft 7 in) |
| Propulsion | Sail |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Complement | 780 |
| Armament | 80 guns |
| Armour | Timber |
Indomptable( "Indomitable" ) was aTonnant-class80-gunship of the linein theFrench Navy,laid down in 1788 and in active service from 1791. Engaged against theRoyal Navyafter 1794, she was damaged in theBattle of Trafalgarand wrecked near the Spanish city ofCadizon 25/26 October 1805.[1]
Early service[edit]
Indomptablewas designed by naval engineerJacques-Noël Sanéand laid down inBrestin September 1788. She was launched on 20 December 1790, and completed in February 1791.
Between 1793 and 1794, she was underBruix.[2]Her first engagement was on 29 May 1794 againstHMSBarfleurandHMSOrionduring theGlorious First of Junecampaign. Following the battle, the dismastedIndomptablewas towed back to Brest byBrutus.[3][4]
In 1795, she served in theMediterraneanunder AdmiralFrançois Joseph Bouvetand took part in the landing attempt inIrelandplanned by GeneralLouis Lazare Hoche.In 1801, she was engaged in the campaign inEgypt,but was unable to break the English blockade and stayed inToulon.Other elements of the fleet managed to reachElba.
Indomptablefought in thebattle of Algecirasin 1801 when she was again badly damaged. In 1802 and 1803, she served in Toulon under AdmiralLatouche Tréville.
Trafalgar campaign[edit]
On 17 January 1805, she went to sea under AdmiralVilleneuve,together with ten other ships of the line and eight frigates, and on 20 January the fleet sailed for the French Caribbean. Off Cadiz, the fleet was joined by the 74-gunAigle,and six Spanish ships of the line under Vice-AdmiralFederico Gravina.When the fleet reached the West Indies, Villeneuve sent CommodoreCosmao-Kerjulienwith thePlutonand theBerwickto attack the British position onDiamond Rock,whichsurrendered on 2 June.Villeneuve returned to Europe on hearing thatHoratio Nelsonhad arrived in the West Indies.
Cape Finisterre and Trafalgar[edit]
On 22 July 1805, in thebattle of Cape Finisterrethe quartermasters ofIndomptablespotted the British fleet under SirRobert Calder.After a violent artillery exchange, the fleets became separated in the fog. Exhausted after six months at sea, the fleet anchored inFerrolbefore sailing toCádizto rest and refit. With his command under question and planning to meet the British fleet to gain a decisive victory, Villeneuve left Cádiz and met the British fleet nearCape Trafalgar.
Indomptablewas in the Spanish line betweenSan JustoandSanta Anaat the opening of the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805. She engaged Vice-AdmiralCuthbert Collingwood'sflagshipHMSRoyal Sovereignoff her lee beam as she approached, then rakedWilliam Hargood'sHMSBelleisleas that ship passedIndomptable's stern.[5]: 157, 160 Later, she engagedHMSRevenge,HMSDreadnoughtandHMSThunderer,losing her place in the line but regrouping behind the Spanish flagshipPrincipe de Asturias.[5]: 241
Downwind of the British and effectively out of range,Indomptableturned towards the bay of Cadiz. At about two in the morning of 22 October, her crew heard distress calls from the French shipBucentaurewhich had struck a reef off Santa Catalina fort. The ship's boat was run out and brought alongsideBucentaure,whose crew requested an anchor and hawsers to secure their vessel. This became impractical asBucentauresettled deeper onto the rocks and began to sink: instead,Indomptable's boats began ferrying sailors off the vessel and back to their own. Rescue efforts continued until mid-afternoon on 23 October, by which timeBucentaurewas completely submerged.[5]: 289, 298
Wreck[edit]
On the night of 25/26 October,[1]a storm brokeIndomptable's anchor chains[clarification needed]and she was carried onto rocks offshore from Cadiz. Contemporary accounts estimate between 1,000 and 1,400 people were on board, including around 500 rescued fromBucentaurethe previous night, and two men fromHMSConquerorwho had been aboardBucentaureasprize crew.Around 150 men survived the wreck, including just two of the twenty-four officers on board.[Note 2]
Notes[edit]
- ^French pounds, approx 1.1 British pounds
- ^The French Navy did not record precise crew numbers aboardIndomptableat the commencement of the Trafalgar engagement, nor was a tally made of the number of sailors rescued fromBucentaure:the figures of between 1,000 and 1,400 are taken from reports of contemporary observers.[5]: 334–5 The estimate of 150 survivors was made by Captain Pernot, whose regiment providedIndomptable's marines.[5]: 334
References[edit]
- ^abDesbrière, Edouard (1907).La campagne maritime de 1805.Paris: Librairie militaire de R. Chapelot. pp. 119–120.
- ^Taillemite (2002),p. 77.
- ^"Histofig - le site du jeu d'Histoire".php4-pro.online.net.Archived fromthe originalon 11 July 2007.Retrieved13 January2022.
- ^de Rambaud, Guy (2002)."Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse".histoire-empire.org.Archived fromthe originalon 10 February 2012.Retrieved18 February2013.
- ^abcdeClayton, Tim; Craig, Phil (2004).Trafalgar: The Men, the Battle, the Storm.Great Britain: Hodder and Stoughton.ISBN9780340830260.
Bibliography[edit]
- Clayton, Tim; Craig, Phil (2004).Trafalgar: The Men, the Battle, the Storm.Great Britain: Hodder and Stoughton.ISBN9780340830260.
- Taillemite, Étienne(2002).Dictionnaire des Marins français.Tallandier.ISBN2-84734-008-4.OCLC606770323.
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