French ship Zélé (1763)

History
French Navy Ensign French Navy Ensign French Navy EnsignFrance
NameZélé [1]
Namesake"Zealous"
Ordered9 December 1761 [1]
BuilderToulon (plans by Coulomb) [1]
Laid downFebruary 1762 [1]
Launched1 July 1763 [1]
In service1764
Out of service1806
FateBroken up 1806
NotesOffered by the receveurs généraux des finances
General characteristics
Displacement2,900 tonnes
Tons burthen1,500 tons
Length55.39 m (181 ft 9 in)
Beam14.13 m (46 ft 4 in)
Draught6.71 m (22 ft 0 in)
Depth of hold6.98 m (22 ft 11 in)
Armament
  • 74 guns:
  • Lower gundeck: 28 × 36-pounder long guns
  • Upper gundeck: 30 × 24-pounder long guns
  • Forecastle and quarterdeck:
    • 16 × 8-pounder long guns

Zélé was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. She was funded by a don des vaisseaux donation from the Régisseur général des finances.[1]

Career

On 6 July 1779, she participated in the Battle of Grenada as a member of the vanguard. Under Bruyères-Chalabre, she was part of the French blockade during Siege of Savannah in 1779.[2]

In 1781 and 1782, was part of de Grasse's fleet in the naval operations in the American Revolutionary War. She took part in the Invasion of Tobago in May 1781 and in the Battle of the Chesapeake on 5 September 1781.[3] under Charles-René de Gras-Préville.[4]

In the night of 11 to 12 April 1782, Zélé collided with Ville de Paris, damaging Zélé which had to be taken in tow to repair at Martinique.[3] This precipitated the French disorganisation and subsequent defeat in the Battle of the Saintes later that day.[5]

Zélé was broken up in May 1806. [1]

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Roche (2005), p. 223.
  2. ^ Gardiner (1905), p. 121.
  3. ^ a b Contenson (1934), p. 186.
  4. ^ Lacour-Gayet (1910), p. 635.
  5. ^ Troude (1867), p. 149.

References

  • Contenson, Ludovic (1934). La Société des Cincinnati de France et la guerre d'Amérique (1778-1783). Paris: éditions Auguste Picard. OCLC 7842336.
  • Demerliac, Alain (1995). La Marine de Louis XV: Nomenclature des Navires Français de 1715 à 1774 (in French). Éditions Ancre. ISBN 2-906381-19-5.
  • Gardiner, Asa Bird (1905). The order of the Cincinnati in France. Rennes: The Rhode Island state society of Cincinnati. p. 121.
  • Lacour-Gayet, Georges (1910). La marine militaire de la France sous le règne de Louis XVI. Paris: Honoré Champion. pp. 431–434.
  • Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours 1 1671 - 1870. p. 223. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.
  • Troude, Onésime-Joachim (1867). Batailles navales de la France (in French). Vol. 2. Challamel ainé.
  • Winfield, Rif; Roberts, Stephen S (2017). French Warships in the Age of Sail 1626–1786: Design Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-4738-9351-1.


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