Invincible (ship)

Invincible

Sister ship Royal Louis

Ship data flag  France Ship type Ship of the line home port Rochefort Shipyard Rochefort Military Shipyard Launch 03/20/1780 Whereabouts Wrecked in 1806

Ship dimensions and crew length 59.8 mm ( Lüa ) width 16.24 mm Draft Max. 8.30 mm displacement 2,400 load   crew 1,055

Rigging and rigging Number of masts 3

Armament 110 cannons

The Invincible was a sailing warship in the French Navy . With 110 cannons at last, she was one of the largest warships of her time. She ended her active service in 1806 and was scrapped in 1808.

history

In February 1779 the keel was laid in Rochefort , the designer was Francois Guillaume Cairin Deslauriers. Its construction was part of an armament program in view of the conflict in America ( American War of Independence ).

From April 1781 to April 1783 she was the flagship of Admiral Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte , who was also her captain.

In 1781 she was stationed in the Antilles and was able to intercept a British convoy. In 1782 she was ordered to Gibraltar . There a British unit under Lord Howe had supplied the besieged garrison with supplies. On the way back there was the battle of Cap Spartel on October 20, 1782. The Invincible fought in the rear.

The Invincible was upgraded and converted several times (1781, 1784 and 1794). In addition to the equipment with heavier armament, it was z. B. 1794 shod with copper. In 1806 it was taken out of active use, in 1807 the armament was removed. In 1808 the Invincible was scrapped.

Armament

Originally equipped with 92 cannons, their armament was later repeatedly reinforced:

June 1780

deck	48 lbs	36 lbs	24 lbs	12 lbs	8 lbs		Cannons!
Under deck	30th						30th
Middle deck		32					32
Upper deck			32				32
Foredeck					6th		6th
Aft deck					6th		6th
total							116 at 657 kg

December 1782

deck	48 lbs	36 lbs	24 lbs	12 lbs	8 lbs		Cannons!
Under deck		30th					30th
Middle deck		32					32
Upper deck			32				32
Foredeck					6th		6th
Aft deck					6th		6th
total							116 with 570 kg

1784

deck	48 lbs	36 lbs	24 lbs	12 lbs	8 lbs		Cannons!
Under deck		30th					30th
Middle deck		32					32
Upper deck			32				32
Foredeck					8th		8th
Aft deck					8th		8th
total							120 with 578 kg

1794

deck	48 lbs	36 lbs	24 lbs	12 lbs	8 lbs	36pfd carrots	Cannons!
Under deck		30th					30th
Middle deck		32					32
Upper deck			32				32
Foredeck					6th		6th
Aft deck					6th	4th	10
total							120 with 605 kg

literature

• Rif Winfield & Stephen S. Roberts: French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786-1861 . Seaforth Publishing, 2017, ISBN 978-1-4738-9351-1 .
• Roche, Jean Michel: Dictionnaire des batiments de la flotte de guerre francaise de Colbert a nos jours 1 1671-1870 p.223 . ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6 .

Web links

• http://www.agh.qc.ca/articles/?id=20
• https://troisponts.net/2011/12/02/les-vaisseaux-a-trois-ponts-francais-du-xviiie-siecle/

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} [1] www.threedecks.org, Invincible
2. ↑ Alain Demerliac: Nomenclature of Navires Français de 1774 à 1792 . edition omega, Nice 1995. ISBN = 2-906381-19-5