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French frigate Républicaine française (1794)

Galathée-Dumoulin-IMG 5509.JPG
Galathée, sister-ship of Républicaine française
History
French Navy EnsignFrance
Name: Républicaine française
Namesake: French Republic
Builder: Bordeaux
Laid down: July 1793
Launched: 3 January 1794
Commissioned: March 1794
Captured: 1796
Name: HMS Renommee
Acquired: 12 July 1796 by capture
Honours and
awards:		 Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Egypt"
Fate: Broken up, September 1810
General characteristics
Class and type: Galathée class frigate
Tons burthen: 923  2⁄94 (bm)
Length:
  • 44.5 m (146 ft)
  • 140 ft 6 1⁄2 in (42.8 m) (overall)
  • 119 ft 4 5⁄8 in (36.4 m) (keel)
Beam:
  • 12.2 m (40 ft)
  • 38 ft 1 1⁄2 in (11.6 m)
Depth of hold:
  • 5.5 m (18 ft)
  • 11 ft 7 1⁄2 in (3.5 m)
Propulsion: Sails
Sail plan: Full rigged ship
Complement:
  • French service:320
  • British service:264
Armament:
  • French service: 32 guns, later upgraded to 44
  • British service:
    • Upper deck:26 × 12-pounder guns
    • QD: 12 × 32-pounder carronades
    • Fc: 2 × 9-pounder guns + 2 × 32-pounder carronades

The Républicaine française was a 32-gun frigate of the French Navy, of the Galathée class. The Royal Navy captured her in 1796. The Navy fitted her as a troopship in 1800, but both as a troopship, and earlier as a frigate, she captured several small Spanish and French privateers. She was broken up in 1810.

Ordered in March 1793 as Panthère, she became République française in January 1794, and eventually Républicaine française when commissioned in May, as the name had been attributed to the 120-gun République française.

Under Lieutenant François Pitot, she cruised the Atlantic off Brest. On 30 May 1795, she was again renamed to Renommée.

In June 1796, Renommée patrolled the Caribbean off Porto Rico. On 12 June, she chased a strange ship, which she joined around 18:00. The ship hoisted two flags half-mast and fired a shot, to which Renommée responded by flying her colours. Immediately, the ship hoisted the Union Jack and gave chase.

Captain Pitot attempted to escape by throwing his anchors and some of his guns overboard, but the ship gained on Renommée. On 13 June, at around 4a.m., the British ship, identified as the 74-gun HMS Alfred, under captain Thomas Drury, fired a broadside that struck Renommée under the waterline, causing a leak that wet her ammunition. After a second broadside from Alfred, Pitot struck his colours.

Led aboard Alfred, Pitot learned that several ships had been lured into the trap that had caught him. Pitot was later acquitted by the court-martial for the loss of his ship.

On her capture Commander John Richards (acting) took command of Renommee. The Royal Navy commissioned her at Jamaica as HMS Renommee, under the command of Captain Robert Rolles.

On 6 September 1797 she was in company with HMS Diligence and HMS Hermione when Diligence captured a Spanish 6-gun packet ship with troops on board.


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