French ship Tonnant (1740)
Encyclopedia
{|



|}

The Tonnant was a 80-gun ship of the line 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...

.

She was the flagship of the French fleet at the Second battle of Cape Finisterre
Second battle of Cape Finisterre (1747)
The Second Battle of Cape Finisterre was a naval battle which took place on 25 October 1747 during the War of the Austrian Succession...

, and later took part in the Battle of Quiberon Bay
Battle of Quiberon Bay
The naval Battle of Quiberon Bay took place on 20 November 1759 during the Seven Years' War in Quiberon Bay, off the coast of France near St. Nazaire...

, and in the American War of Independence
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

.

She was broken up in 1780.

Construction

Constructed in Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....

 between 1740 and 1744, it was armed with 80 cannons.

Involvements

Is was the flagship of Louis XV
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...

 fleet, and thus served as Admiral Vessal to Marquis de l'Estenduère
Henri-François des Herbiers, Marquis de l'Estenduère
Henri-François des Herbiers, Marquis de L'Estenduère, was born in Angers around 1682 and died in Rochefort in March of 1750. He was a Navy Officer and aristocrat in France during the 17th and 18th centuries. Coming from a noble family from Poitou, he began his navigational skills under the...

 during the lors de la Second battle of Cape Finisterre
Second battle of Cape Finisterre (1747)
The Second Battle of Cape Finisterre was a naval battle which took place on 25 October 1747 during the War of the Austrian Succession...

 in 1747. During this naval battle, eight French vessals were sacrificed when they took on the forteen British ships by Admiral Hawke, to protect the merchant ships. The Tonnant was involved in fierce combat. Partly dismantled, it escaped by being towed by the Intrépide of Vaudreuil
Louis-Philippe de Rigaud de Vaudreuil
Louis-Philippe de Rigaud, comte de Vaudreuil was a French Navy Officer.-Bibliography:thumb|right|200px|Vaudreuil at the [[Second Battle of Cape Finisterre |Battle of Cap Finisterre]]...

, who crossed British lines to secure the ship.

The Tonnant also participated at the Battle of Quiberon Bay
Battle of Quiberon Bay
The naval Battle of Quiberon Bay took place on 20 November 1759 during the Seven Years' War in Quiberon Bay, off the coast of France near St. Nazaire...

 in 1759, on board was the (Chevalier de Bauffremont). It escaped and took refuge at Rochefort
Rochefort, Charente-Maritime
Rochefort is a commune in southwestern France, a port on the Charente estuary. It is a sub-prefecture of the Charente-Maritime department.-History:...

.

It was refurbished in 1770, and participated in the campaign of Admiral Estaing in Amrica in 1778-1779. It was present during the attack on Newport in (1778) and at the Battle of Grenada
Battle of Grenada
The Battle of Grenada took place on 6 July 1779 during the American War of Independence in the West Indies between the British Royal Navy and the French Navy.-Origins:...

 on (July 6 1779). It finished it's naval career in 1780.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK