| Career (France) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Bienfaisant |
| Launched: | 1754 |
| Captured: | 25 July 1758, by Royal Navy |
| Career (UK) | |
| Name: | HMS Bienfaisant |
| Acquired: | 25 July 1758 |
| Honours and awards: |
Participated in: |
| Fate: | Broken up, 1814 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Class and type: | 64-gun third rate ship of the line |
| Tons burthen: | 1360 tons (1381.8 tonnes) |
| Length: | 153 ft 9 in (46.86 m) (gundeck) |
| Beam: | 44 ft 6 in (13.56 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 19 ft 4 in (5.89 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Sail plan: | Full rigged ship |
| Armament: | 64 guns of various weights of shot |
Bienfaisant was a 64-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, launched in 1754.
She was captured by the Royal Navy on the night of 25 July 1758 during a cutting out expedition ordered by Admiral Edward Boscawen during the 1758 Siege of Louisbourg. Bienfaisant and the 74-gun Prudent were the last remaining ships of the line of the French squadron in Louisbourg harbour. Prudent was aground and so was burnt but Bienfaisant was successfully cut out by men commanded by Commander George Balfour, of HMS Aetna. The action was decisive moment of the siege as the fortress surrendered the next day. The captured Bienfaisant was commissioned as the third rate HMS Bienfaisant.[2][3] She took part in the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1780.
Bienfaisant was broken up in 1814.