The Cybèle was an Nymphe class 40-gun frigate of the French Navy

French Navy

The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...

.

On 22 October 1794, soon after the outbreak of the war with England, and along with the 32-gun Prudente

French frigate Prudente (1790)

The Prudente was a 32-gun Capricieuse class frigate frigate of the French Navy.In 1791, under lieutenant Villaret de Joyeuse, she was tasked with ferrying troops to Cap Français and with police duty in Santo Domingo...

 and the brig Coureur, she fought HMS Centurion

HMS Centurion (1774)

HMS Centurion was a 50-gun Salisbury-class fourth rate of the Royal Navy. She served during the American War of Independence, and during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars....

 and , who blockaded Ile de France

Mauritius

Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...

. The French ships managed to drive away the British ships. Robert Surcouf

Robert Surcouf

Robert Surcouf was a famous French corsair. During his legendary career, he captured 47 ships and was renowned for his gallantry and chivalry, earning the nickname of Roi des Corsaires .- Youth :...

 volunteered to serve as an officer for the action and earned his first command for his behaviour on that day.

In 1796 she took part in patrols in the Indian Ocean in Admiral Sercey

Pierre César Charles de Sercey

Pierre César Charles de Sercey was a French admiral, most notable for commanding French naval forces in the Indian Ocean from 1796 to 1800. His name is engraved on the Arc de triomphe.-Early life:...

's squadron. In 1806, she took part in L'Hermite's expedition

L'Hermite's expedition

L'Hermite's expedition was a French naval operation launched in 1805 during the Napoleonic Wars. The operation was intended as both a commerce raiding operation against the British trading posts of West Africa and as a diversion to the Trafalgar campaign...

. 38 men were lost in the hurricane that scattered the squadron, and she managed to reach Lorient.

On 24 February 1809, under captain Cocault, she took part in the Battle of Les Sables-d'Olonne

Battle of Les Sables-d'Olonne

The Battle of Les Sables-d'Olonne was a limited frigate action that took place on 23 February 1809 off Les Sables-d'Olonne. Three ships of the line and two attached ships of the British squadron blockading the harbours of the Atlantic coast engaged a small French frigate squadron comprising...

, which left her in such a battered state that she was declared to be irreparable, and was broken up.

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