French cutter Lézard (1781)
Lézard was a 16-gun Cerf-class cutter of the French Navy. She was built in 1781, and took part in the Indian theatre of the Anglo-French War. She was captured by the 74-gun HMS Sultan in October 1782 at Trinquebar,[3] and later returned to France.[1]
| History | |
|---|---|
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} France | |
| Name | Lézard |
| Builder | Dunkirk, [1] Jacques and Daniel Denys [2] |
| Laid down | October 1780 [1] |
| Launched | 10 March 1781 [1] |
| In service | June 1781 [1] |
 Great Britain | |
| Name | HMS Lizard |
| Fate | Returned to France |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Cerf-class cutter cutter |
| Displacement | 130 tonnes |
| Length | 26.3 metres |
| Beam | 8.4 metres |
| Height | 3.9 metres |
| Armament | 16 to 18 6-pounder long guns [1] |
Career
Lézard was built at by Jacques and Daniel Denys at Dunkirk and launched on 10 March 1781. [2]
On 27 July 1782, Lézard arrived at Puducherry, where Hyder Ali and Suffren were conferring, bringing news of the arrival of Bussy-Castelnau, with the 74-gun Illustre and the 64-gun Saint Michel, on the theatre of operations.[4] In August, Lézard was at Galle. [5]
On 19 August 1782, Lézard brought despatches officially approving of Suffren's conduct at the Battle of Porto Praya, and granting requests he had made to appoint his officers. Furthermore, a letter from Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, informed Suffren that he was promoted to Bailiff of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.[6][7] The next day, Lézard sailed to the neutral, Danish-held port of Tranquebar to conduct reconnaissance.[8] On 26, Lézard covered the landing of French troops in the prelude of the Battle of Trincomalee.[9]
In September 1782, Dufreneau replaced Ensign Saint-Georges as captain of Lézard, and on 25 she sailed to Tranquebar, carrying letters from Suffren to Piveron de Morlat.[10]
On 2 October 1782, the 74-gun HMS Sultan captured Lézard in the roads of the neutral (Danish) port of Tranquebar and took her to Bombay. She was under Lieutenant Thomas Troubridge from October 1782,[11] and from January 1783 under Lieutenant Richard Strachan, and was present at the Battle of Cuddalore.
There she was released back to France in 1783 and re-entered on the lists in January 1784.[2]
Fate
Lézard was struck from the Navy lists in 1784.[1]
Citations
- Roche (2005), p. 280.
- Demerliac (1996), p. 88, n°584.
- Lacour-Gayet (1910), p. 542.
- Cunat (1852), p. 192.
- Cunat (1852), p. 199.
- Hennequin (1835), p. 312.
- Cunat (1852), p. 202.
- Cunat (1852), p. 205.
- Cunat (1852), p. 207.
- Cunat (1852), p. 232.
- Laughton, John Knox (1899). . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 57. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
References
- Cunat, Charles (1852). Histoire du Bailli de Suffren. Rennes: A. Marteville et Lefas.
- Demerliac, Alain (1996). La Marine De Louis XVI: Nomenclature Des Navires Français De 1774 À 1792. Nice: Éditions OMEGA. ISBN 2-906381-23-3.
- Hennequin, Joseph François Gabriel (1835). Biographie maritime ou notices historiques sur la vie et les campagnes des marins célèbres français et étrangers (in French). Vol. 2. Paris: Regnault éditeur.
- 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. Vol. 1. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. p. 280. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.