French ship Régulus (1805)

Régulus was a Téméraire-class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.

The French Régulus under attack by British fireships, during the evening of 11 August 1809. Drawing by Louis-Philippe Crépin.
History
France
Name: Régulus
Namesake: Regulus
Ordered: 4 April 1801
Builder: Lorient
Laid down: 2 November 1801
Launched: 12 April 1805
In service: 15 April 1805
Fate: Burned and scuttled 7 April 1814
General characteristics
Class and type: Téméraire-class ship of the line
Displacement:
  • 2966 tonnes
  • 5260 tonnes fully loaded
Length: 55.87 metres (183.3 ft) (172 pied)
Beam: 14.90 metres (48 ft 11 in)
Draught: 7.26 metres (23.8 ft) (22 pied)
Propulsion: Up to 2,485 m2 (26,750 sq ft) of sails
Armament:
Armour: Timber

From 25 May 1801, her armament was upgraded to between 80 and 86 guns.

During the Atlantic campaign of 1806, she was the flagship of L'Hermite's squadron (also comprising frigates Président and Cybèle and corvette Surveillant) during L'Hermite's expedition. She patrolled from the Gulf of Guinea to Brazil and the Caribbean. On 6 January 1806 the French squadron captured the 16-gun sloop-of-war HMS Favourite.[1] The squadron also captured about 20 merchantman, notably including the ships Otway and Plowers (Plover).

In 1808, Régulus was in station with the Brest squadron.

In 1809, she was transferred to Rochefort. She famously took part in the Battle of the Basque Roads from 11 April 1809, under Captain Lucas, where she ran aground between Les Palles and Fouras. For 17 days, the stranded ship repelled assaults by the British, before refloating and returning to Rochefort on 29.[2]

Fate

Régulus was scuttled by fire on 7 April 1814 near Meschers-sur-Gironde to avoid capture by the British vessels HMS Egmont and HMS Centaur.[3]

Legacy
Régulus caves

The scuttling of Régulus occurred off a limestone cliff dotted by numerous caves. The site was named in honour of the ship.

Sources and references
  1. Favourite 1794, Naval Database
  2. (in French) 1809 – Fouras (17) – La bataille des brûlots à bord du vaisseau "le Régulus"
  3. (in French) 1814 – L’agonie du vaisseau le Régulus au large de Meschers (17)
  • Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours 1 1671 – 1870. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.
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