''Sibylle'' was a 32-gun copper-hulled, frigate 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 ...

, lead ship of her class.

Career

''Sibylle'' took part in the Battle of Ushant on 27 July 1778, under Sébastien Mahé de Kerhouan. She was part of the division under

Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la MotteIn the 18th century, spelling could vary and the name is sometimes spelt "Piquet" and "La Mothe" (1 November 1720 – 10 June 1791) was a French Navy officer. Over a career spanning 50 years, he served under ...

that captured 18 British merchantmen in the

action of 2 May 1781 Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

. In 1783, ''Sibylle'' was under Captain

Théobald René de Kergariou-Locmaria Théobald-René, Comte de Kergariou-LocmariaOr Thibaud-René de Kergariou-Locmaria; see Taillemite, p. 273 (17 September 1739Levot, ''Gloires maritimes'', p. 256 – 16 July 1795Levot, ''Gloires maritimes'', p. 258) was a French Navy officer w ...

. On 2 January, she fought a hotly contested, and ultimately inconclusive

action of 2 January 1783 The action of 2 January 1783 was a minor naval battle that took place in the Caribbean Sea during the last stages of the American War of Independence. Severe fighting between a Royal Navy frigate French frigate Magicienne (1778), HMS ''Magicienne ...

against HMS ''Magicienne''. ''Sibylle'' effected repairs and returned to the sea, but ended up being captured by HMS ''Centurion'' and ''Hussar'' in the

action of 22 January 1783 The action of 22 January 1783 was a single-ship action fought off the Chesapeake Bay during the American War of Independence. The British frigate ''Hussar'', under the command of Thomas Macnamara Russell, captured the French frigate ''Sybille' ...

Fate

The British broke up ''Sibylle'' in 1784.

Citations

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sibylle (1777) Age of Sail frigates of France Ships built in France Sibylle-class frigates 1777 ships Captured ships