''Manche'' was a 40-gun of the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

, originally named ''Département de la Manche'', but the name was immediately shortened to ''Manche'' around the time of her

launch Launch or launched may refer to: Involving vehicles * Launch (boat), one of several different sorts of boat ** Motor launch (naval), a small military vessel used by the Royal Navy * Air launch, the practice of dropping an aircraft, rocket, or ...

in April 1806. She took part in operations in the

Mauritius campaign of 1809–1811 The Mauritius campaign of 1809–1811 was a minor military campaign of the Napoleonic Wars fought between British and French forces over France's Indian Ocean colonies of Isle de France (Mauritius), Isle de France and Réunion, Isle Bonaparte. La ...

under Captain François-Désiré Breton.

Action during Mauritius campaign of 1809-1811

Under Captain

Jean Dornal de Guy Jean Dornal de GuyThe name is sometimes written "Dornaldegu/ref> (13 October 1771 – 10 May 1855) was a French Navy officer. Career In 1803, Commander Dornal de Guy was serving in the flotilla at the Camp de Boulogne. On 7 August, a British bri ...

, ''Manche'' captured the 16-gun

gun brig A gun-brig was a small brig-rigged warship that enjoyed popularity in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, during which large numbers were purchased or built. In general these were vessels of under 200 tons burthen, and thus smaller than ...

, Lieutenant

William Fitzwilliam Owen Vice Admiral William Fitzwilliam Owen (17 September 1774 – 3 November 1857), was a British naval officer and explorer. He is best known for his exploration of the west and east African coasts, discovery of the Seaflower Channel off the coa ...

commanding, on 28 September 1808 near

Bengkulu Bengkulu (), historically known as Bencoolen, is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the southwest coast of Sumatra. It was formed on 18 November 1968 by separating out the area of the historic Bencoolen Residency from the province of ...

.Fonds marine. On 26 April 1809, ''Manche'' departed Port-Napoléon ''Correspondance de Napoléon''
/ref> in a squadron under Captain

Hamelin Hameln ( ; ) is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hameln-Pyrmont and has a population of roughly 57,000. Hamelin is best known for the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. History Hameln ...

, along with and . The squadron managed to re-take

Foulpointe Mahavelona (commonly called Foulpointe), is a town in the district of Toamasina II, in the region of Atsinanana, on the northern part of the east coast of Madagascar. Geography It is situated at the coast of the Indian Ocean south of the mouth of ...

in Madagascar, captured three prizes at the action of 18 November 1809, and raided the British settlement at Tarapouly, in

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

. In 1810, she took part in the

Battle of Grand Port The Battle of Grand Port was a naval battle fought on 20–27 August 1810 between squadrons of frigates from the French Navy and the British Royal Navy over possession of the harbour of Grand Port on Île de France (now Mauritius), as part of ...

, contributing to the capture of and the fort held by the British on

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Fate

''Manche'' was captured by British forces during the

invasion of Île de France The invasion of Isle de France was a complicated but successful British amphibious operation in the Indian Ocean, launched in November 1810 during the Napoleonic Wars. During the operation, a substantial military force was landed by the Royal ...

in 1810. She was broken up as she was unfit for service in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

Citations

References

* ''La'' Manche'', frégate française : 1803-1810'', Roger Lepelley, 198

HAMELIN Emmanuel, amiral, baron (1768-1839)

''Une mission à l'Isle de France''
*Winfield, Rif & Stephen S Roberts (2015) ''French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786 - 1861: Design Construction, Careers and Fates''. (Seaforth Publishing). {{DEFAULTSORT:Manche (1806) Age of Sail frigates of France Hortense-class frigates Ships built in France Captured ships 1806 ships