''Zodiaque'' 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 ...

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 ...

Career

Seven Years' War

In 1757, ''Zodiaque'' was under d'Aché. on 5 June, she helped capture a British corvette. She took part in the

Battle of Pondicherry The Battle of Pondicherry was a naval battle between a British squadron under Vice-Admiral George Pocock and French squadron under Comte d'Aché on 10 September 1759 off the Carnatic coast of India near Pondicherry during the Seven Years' Wa ...

on 10 September 1759. In 1760, she was under La Tullaye at Isle de France.

Interwar

In 1776, ''Zodiaque'' was under Du Chaffault, as flagship of his division in the

Escadre d'évolution An Escadre d'évolution (French, literally "Evolution squadron") is a squadron of warships of the French Navy cruising in peacetime for the purpose of training their crew and student officers. History The French Navy started organising Escadre d' ...

that year.

War of American Independence

In 1778, ''Zodiaque'' was in the First Division of the White squadron in the fleet under Orvilliers. She took part in the Battle of Ushant on 27 July 1778 under La Porte Vézins, with Cicé-Champion as first officer. The year after, she was attached to the Armada of 1779. In 1780, ''Zodiaque'' was under Roquefeuil-Montpeyroux. On 6 June, she and ''Néréide'' captured the 10-gun British privateer cutter ''Prince of Wales''. In 1781, ''Zodiaque'' was at Brest under

Retz Retz is a town with a population of 4,168 in the Hollabrunn District in Lower Austria, Austria. Geography Retz is located in the north western Weinviertel in Lower Austria. The municipality's area covers 45,01 km². 11.83 percent of this ...

. In 1782, ''Zodiaque'' was first under Senneville, and later under Langan-Boisfévrier, who captained her at the

Battle of Cape Spartel The Battle of Cape Spartel was an indecisive naval battle between a Franco-Spanish fleet under Admiral Luis de Córdova y Córdova and a British fleet under Admiral Richard Howe. These forces met on 20 October 1782 after Howe successfully resup ...

on 20 October 1782.

Fate

''Zodiaque'' was sold in 1784.

Citations

References

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External links

* Ships of the line of the French Navy Diadème-class ships of the line Ships built in France 1756 ships {{France-mil-ship-stub