French ship Tourville (1788)

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Tourville.

Tourville was a 4th rank, 74-gun Téméraire-class ship of the line built for the French Navy during the 1780s. Completed in 1790, she played a minor role in the French Revolutionary Wars.

Tourville (left) raking HMS Defence (centre) at the Battle of Prairial, while Mucius Scævola (right) duels with her on her port side. Painting by Nicholas Pocock
History
France
Name	Tourville
Namesake	Anne Hilarion de Tourville
Builder	Lorient
Laid down	1 June 1787
Launched	16 September 1788
Commissioned	July 1790
Decommissioned	26 October 1833
Fate	Broken up in Brest in 1841
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

Tourville was laid down at the Arsenal de Lorient on 1 June 1787 and named on 25 August. The ship was launched 16 September 1788 and completed in July 1790.^[3] In 1790, she was under the command of Armand de Saint-Félix.^[4]

After having broken out of Brest during a storm in March 1793, she was damaged by a tempest, which also killed her captain, and had to return to Brest in August. In September, a mutiny broke out aboard. She took part in the Glorious First of June in 1794, to the French expedition to Ireland two years, and to the Cruise of Bruix in 1799. She was eventually broken up in Brest in 1841.^[5]