French ship Belle Poule

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Four ships of the French Navy have borne the name Belle Poule (Beautiful Chick). Legend has it that the name derives from Belle Paule, the name of a privateer christened in honour of Paule de Viguier, baronne de Fonterville, in 1533 [1]. The ships are

• the 26-gun frigate Belle Poule (1765), famous for her duel against the English frigate HMS Arethusa on June 17, 1778, which started the French intervention in the American War of Independence. She was captured by the British in 1780.
• the 40-gun frigate Belle Poule (1802-1806) which acted as a commerce raider in the Indian Ocean.
• the 60-gun frigate Belle Poule (1828-1888), famous for bringing back the remains of Napoléon from Saint Helena to France in 1840. She was under command of François d'Orléans, prince of Joinville, and was painted black for the mission.
• The modern schooner Belle Poule, training ship of the Naval Academy, whose actions with the Free French Forces during the Second World War are commemorated by her bearing a French flag with the croix de Lorraine.