French ship Aquilon (1789)

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Aquilon and HMS Aboukir.

Aquilon was a 4th rank, 74-gun Téméraire-class ship of the line built for the French Navy during the 1780s. Completed in 1785, she played a minor role in the French Revolutionary Wars.

Scale model of Achille, sister ship of French ship Aquilon (1789), on display at the Musée national de la Marine in Paris.
History
France
Name	Aquilon
Namesake	Aquilo
Builder	Rochefort
Laid down	September 1787
Launched	8 June 1789
Acquired	June 1790
Captured	2 August 1798
Great Britain
Name	Aboukir
Acquired	2 August 1798
Fate	Broken up in Plymouth, 1802
General characteristics
Class & type	Téméraire-class ship of the line
Displacement	3,069 tonneaux
Tons burthen	1,537 port tonneaux
Length	55.87 m (183 ft 4 in)
Beam	14.46 m (47 ft 5 in)
Draught	7.15 m (23.5 ft)
Depth of hold	7.15 m (23 ft 5 in)
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Crew	705
Armament	74 guns: Lower gun deck: 28 × 36 pdr guns Upper gun deck: 30 × 18 pdr guns Forecastle and Quarterdeck: 16 × 8 pdr guns

Description

The Téméraire-class ships had a length of 55.87 metres (183 ft 4 in), a beam of 14.46 metres (47 ft 5 in) and a depth of hold of 7.15 metres (23 ft 5 in). The ships displaced 3,069 tonneaux and had a mean draught of 7.15 metres (23 ft 5 in). They had a tonnage of 1,537 port tonneaux. Their crew numbered 705 officers and ratings during wartime. They were fitted with three masts and ship rigged.^[1]

The muzzle-loading, smoothbore armament of the Téméraire class consisted of twenty-eight 36-pounder long guns on the lower gun deck, thirty 18-pounder long guns and thirty 18-pounder long guns on the upper gun deck. On the quarterdeck and forecastle were a total of sixteen 8-pounder long guns. Beginning with the ships completed after 1787, the armament of the Téméraires began to change with the addition of four 36-pounder obusiers on the poop deck (dunette). Some ships had instead twenty 8-pounders.^[2]

Construction and career

Aquilon was laid down at the Arsenal de Rochefort in August 1787. The ship was launched 8 June 1789 and completed in June 1790.^[3] She participated in the Italian campaign of 1796–1797, returning to Toulon in April 1798. She served off Italy in Vice-Admiral Brueys' squadron under Captain Antoine-René Thévenard, and took part in the Battle of the Nile, where she fought HMS Vanguard, HMS Minotaur and HMS Theseus. She was captured and recommissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Aboukir.^[4]