''Soleil Royal'' (''Royal Sun'') was a French 104-gun ship of the line, flagship of Admiral Tourville. She was built in

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress * Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria * Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France ** Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Br ...

between 1668 and 1670 by engineer Laurent Hubac, was launched in 1669, and stayed unused in

harbour for years. She was recommissioned with 112 guns and 1200 men when the Nine Years' War broke out in 1688 as the flagship of the ''escadre du Ponant'' (squadron of the West). She was said to be a good sailing ship and her decorations were amongst the most beautiful and elaborate of all baroque flagships. The emblem of the "sun" had been chosen by

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ver ...

as his personal symbol.

Career

Battle of Beachy Head

''Soleil Royal'' was recommissioned with 112 guns and 1200 men when the Nine Years' War broke out. She departed Brest on 22 June 1690 as flagship of

Anne Hilarion de Tourville Anne-Hilarion de Costentin, Comte de Tourville (24 November 1642, Paris – 23 May 1701) was a French naval commander who served under King Louis XIV. He was made Marshal of France in 1693. Tourville is widely considered as one of the most celeb ...

. She spent three days in

Camaret-sur-Mer Camaret-sur-Mer (; ) is a commune in the Finistère department in northwestern France, located at the end of Crozon peninsula. Sights Camaret-sur-Mer is home to the ''Tour Vauban'' or ''Tour dorée'' (lit. "Golden Tower"), a historic fortificat ...

waiting for favourable wind before sailing to

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

where the English fleet was thought to be anchored. Two ships sent in

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

located the English anchored at

Beachy Head Beachy Head is a chalk headland in East Sussex, England. It is situated close to Eastbourne, immediately east of the Seven Sisters. Beachy Head is located within the administrative area of Eastbourne Borough Council which owns the land, formi ...

. The Battle of Beachy Head (known in French as "''Bataille de Béveziers''") began in the morning of 10 July 1690 when the French surprised the English ships anchored. ''Soleil Royal'' led the centre of the French formation.

Battle of Barfleur

In 1692, on 12 May, now carrying 104 guns, she left Brest, leading a 45-vessel fleet; on the 29th, the squadron met a 97-ship strong English and Dutch fleet in the

Battle of Barfleur The action at Barfleur was part of the battle of Barfleur-La Hougue during the War of the Grand Alliance. A French fleet under Anne Hilarion de Tourville was seeking to cover an invasion of England by a French army to restore James II to the ...

. In spite of their numerical inferiority, the French attacked but were forced to flee after a large-scale battle resulting in heavy damage to both sides. The ''Soleil Royal'' was too severely damaged to return to Brest, and was beached in Cherbourg for repairs, along with the ''Admirable'' and ''Triomphant''.

Battle at Cherbourg and the end of the ''Soleil Royal''

During the night of 2 and 3 June, beached at the Pointe du Hommet, she was attacked by 17 ships, which she managed to repel with artillery fire. However, a

fireship A fire ship or fireship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, or gunpowder deliberately set on fire and steered (or, when possible, allowed to drift) into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy sh ...

set her stern on fire and the fire soon reached the powder rooms. Although the population of Cherbourg came to rescue, there was only one survivor among the 883 (or even 950)-strong crew. The remains of the ''Soleil Royal'' now lie buried beneath a parking space next to the Arsenal.

Legacy

'' Soleil Royal'' became a traditional name for capital ships of the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for ...

, and several ships bore it afterwards. A detailed 1/40th scale model of the hull and sculptures was built in 1839 by sculptor and modelist Jean-Baptiste Tanneron. This model is now on display at the

Musée national de la Marine The Musée national de la Marine (National Navy Museum) is a maritime museum located in the Palais de Chaillot, Trocadéro, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. It has annexes at Brest, Port-Louis, Rochefort ( Musée National de la Marine de ...

in Paris.Maquette de bateau, Le Soleil Royal, vaisseau de 100 canons, 1689 ou 1693

Notes and references

Notes

References

Bibliography

*
Navire de 1er Rang français
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Soleil Royal Ships of the line of the French Navy Shipwrecks of France 1670s ships