''Annibal'' 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 ...

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactics in the Age of Sail, naval tactic known as the line of battl ...

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. She was designed by

Jacques-Noël Sané Jacques-Noël Sané (18 February 1740 – 22 August 1831) was a French shipwright. He was the creator of standardised designs for ship of the line, ships of the line and frigates fielded by the French Navy in the 1780s, which served during the Fr ...

, and was one of the earliest of his works. She was built at Brest in 1778.

Career

American theatre in the War of American Independence

''Annibal'' sailed out to the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

and took part in the

Battle of Grenada The Battle of Grenada took place on 6 July 1779 during the American Revolutionary War in the West Indies between the British Royal Navy and the French Navy, just off the coast of Grenada. A British fleet led by Admiral John Byron (the grandfath ...

under Lamotte-Picquet. In the Battle of Martinique, on 18 December 1779, ''Annibal'' single-handedly engaged seven ships of the line to protect a convoy, and withdrew without anyone being killed aboard. ''Annibal'' later took part in the action of 20 March 1780.

Indian theatre in the War of American Independence

She was then sent out to the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...

under Suffren. ''Fortune'' and ''Annibal'' were the only two ships in the squadron not to have a

copper sheathing Copper sheathing is a method for protecting the hull of a wooden vessel from attack by shipworm, barnacles and other marine growth through the use of copper plates affixed to the surface of the hull, below the waterline. It was pioneered and d ...

. At the

Battle of Porto Praya The Battle of Porto Praya was a naval battle that took place during the American Revolutionary War on 16 April 1781 between a British squadron under Commodore George Johnstone and a French squadron under Pierre André de Suffren. Both squadr ...

, her captain, Achille de Trémigon, failed to understand Suffren's intentions to illegally attack the British fleet without consideration for the Portuguese neutrality, and followed ''Héros'' into the harbour unprepared for battle. Trémigon was killed by a cannonball that struck his leg, and First Officer Morard de Galles assumed command. After the battle, Suffren gave command of ''Annibal'' to Captain Bernard Boudin de Tromelin.

Sadras Sadras is a fortress town located on India's Coromandel Coast in Chengalpattu district, 70 km south of Chennai in Tamil Nadu state. ''Sadras'' is the anglicised form of the ancient town of ''Sadurangapattinam''. History and etymology An in ...

, Providien, Negapatam and

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; , ; , ), historically known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast o ...

in 1782 under Captain de Tromelin. The following year, she fought at the battle of Cuddalore under Captain d'Aymar. ''Annibal'' was renamed to ''Achille'' in 1786 to prevent confusion with ''Petit Annibal''.

French revolutionary wars

''Achille'' served with the

until 1794, when she was captured by 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 ...

during the battle of the

Glorious First of June The Glorious First of June, also known as the Fourth Battle of Ushant, (known in France as the or ) was fought on 1 June 1794 between the British and French navies during the War of the First Coalition. It was the first and largest fleet a ...

. She was commissioned into the Royal Navy as the

third-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks (thus the related term two-decker). Rating When the rating system was f ...

HMS ''Achille'', retaining the French spelling of the name. However, she was in a poor state and was broken up at

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

in 1796, just two years after her capture.

Citations

References

* * * * * Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Ships of the line of the French Navy Annibal-class ships of the line 1778 ships Captured ships Napoleonic-era ships {{France-mil-ship-stub