French ship Belle Poule (1765)
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The Belle-Poulewas a French frigate, famous for her duel against the English frigate HMS Arethusaon the 17 June 1778, which began the French intervention in the American War of Independence.
[edit] 1768 - 1778
The Belle-Poule was built in 1765 in Bordeaux.
She served in two campaigns in the West Indies, where due to her good sailing performance she was selected for the first French attempt at covering her hull with copper to resist marine growths.
From 1772 to 1776, she was sent on hydrographic missions, during which the young Lapérouse came to the attention of his superiors.
On the December 12, 1776, she left India to return to Brest; at the time, France was not yet engaged in the American War of Independence, but there had been numerous incidents involving French and British ships. Indeed, on the April 27, 1777, the Belle-Poule was chased by a British ship of the line, which she easily evaded to reach Brest.
[edit] 1778 - 1808
In January 1778, the Belle-Poule was selected to ferry Benjamin Franklin back to America. On the 7 January, she was stopped by the English ships of the line Hector and Courageous, who demanded to inspect her. In spite of the overwhelming superiority of the British forces, her captain, Bernard de Marigny, answered:
 Fight of HMS Arethusa and the Belle Poule |
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| Career (France) |  |
|
|---|---|---|
| Name: | Belle Poule | |
| Namesake: | Paule de Viguier, baronne de Fonterville | |
| Builder: | Bordeaux shipyard | |
| Laid down: | 1765 | |
| Launched: | 18 November 1766 | |
| Commissioned: | 1767 | |
| Captured: | by the British, 16 July 1780 | |
| Career (UK) |  |
|
| Name: | HMS Belle Poule | |
| Acquired: | 16 July 1780 | |
| Out of service: | 1798 | |
| Fate: | Broken up in 1801 | |
| General characteristics | ||
| Class and type: | Dédaigneuse class frigate | |
| Displacement: |
650 tonnes (empty) |
|
| Length: | 43 metres | |
| Beam: | 11.2 metres | |
| Draught: | 4.9 metres | |
| Complement: | 260 men | |
| Armament: |
30 guns:
|
|
| Armour: | Timber | |
| “ | I am the Belle-Poule, frigate of the King of France; I sail from sea and I sail to sea. Vessels of the King, my master, never allow inspections | ” |
The English offered apologies and let the frigate sail through. However, opposing winds prevented the ship from crossing the Atlantic, and after 36 days, the Belle-Poule had to return to Brest. Franklin later sailed to America aboard the Sensible.
When war broke out, the Belle-Poule was sent on a reconnaissance mission, along with the 26-gun frigate Licorne, the corvette Hirondelle and the smaller Coureur, to locate the squadron of Admiral Keppel. They encountered and were chased by the British squadron. HMS Arethusa reached the French, and a furious battle ensued, after which the Arethusa had to retrat toward her fleet, having lost her main mast. The smaller ships of the French flotilla were captured, but the two frigates escaped the numerous ships of the line pursuing them. Belle-Poule had 30 killed, among which her captain, commandant de La Clocheterie. The battle was so famous that ladies of the high society invented the hairstyle "Belle-Poule", with a ship on the top of the head.
Between September and October 1778, Belle-Poule teamed up with French ship Vengeur and captured 5 privateers.
In 1779, the Belle-Poule served as coast guard and convoy escort. During the night of the July 15 - 16, she was chased by the 64-gun ship of the line HMS Nonsuch off Île d'Yeu, and eventually struck her colours after several hours of battle. Her commanding officer, captain Kergariou, was killed.
She was commissioned in the English Royal Navy, put in the reserve in 1789, and scrapped in 1808.
