French ship Vengeur (1789)

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

Vengeur 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.

Scale model of Achille, sister ship of French ship Vengeur (1789), on display at the Musée national de la Marine in Paris.
History
France
Name	Vengeur
Builder	Brest
Laid down	23 May 1788
Launched	16 December 1789
Commissioned	20 August 1790
Fate	Sunk on 12 December 1792
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

Vengeur was ordered on 19 October 1787 laid down at the Arsenal de Brest on 23 May 1788. The ship was launched 16 December 1789 and completed on 8 June 1790.^[3] In 1792, captained by Le Dall Kéréon, she was part to a squadron under Latouche-Tréville. On 26 August, she bombarded the city of Oneglia. On 12 December 1792, she ran aground off Ajaccio. After attempts to refloat her proved unsuccessful,^[4] the ship was burned on 8 June 1793.^[3]