French frigate Bellone (1778)

Bellone was an Iphigénie-class 32-gun frigate of the French Navy on plans by Léon-Michel Guignace.[1] She took part in the American Revolutionary War in the Indian Ocean with the squadron under Suffren, and later in the French Revolutionary Wars. She was present at the Glorious First of June.

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Bellone and HMS Proserpine.

Battle between Bellone and HMS Foudroyant
Fight between Bellone and HMS Foudroyant at the Battle of Tory Island
History
French Navy Ensign French Navy Ensign French Navy EnsignFrance
Name
  • N°6 [1]
  • Bellone
NamesakeBellona
BuilderSaint Malo [2]
Laid downJanuary 1778 [2]
Launched22 August 1778 [2]
CommissionedFebruary 1779 [2]
Captured12 October 1798 [2]
Great Britain
NameProserpine
Acquired12 October 1798
Fate
General characteristics [2]
Class and typeIphigénie-class frigate
Displacement1,150 tons (French)
Tons burthen8882⁄94[3]
Length44.2 m (145 ft)
Beam11.2 m (37 ft)
Draught4.9 m (16 ft)
PropulsionSail
Armament

The British Royal Navy captured her in 1798 and commissioned her as HMS Proserpine. She never went to sea and was broken up in 1806.

French service

In January 1780, Bellone received copper sheathing.[1]

Operations off America

On 2 May 1780,[4] she departed Brest with the 7-ship and 3-frigate Expédition Particulière under Admiral Ternay, escorting 36 transports carrying troops to support the Continental Army in the War of American Independence. The squadron comprised the 80-gun Duc de Bourgogne, under Ternay d'Arsac (admiral) and Médine (flag captain); the 74-gun Neptune, under Sochet Des Touches, and Conquérant, under La Grandière; and the 64-gun Provence under Lombard, Ardent under Bernard de Marigny, Jason under La Clocheterie and Éveillé under Le Gardeur de Tilly, and the frigates Surveillante under Villeneuve Cillart, Amazone under La Pérouse, and Bellone.[5] Amazone, which constituted the vanguard of the fleet, arrived at Boston on 11 June 1780.[6]

Indian Ocean campaign of the American Revolutionary War

In October 1781, Bellone, under Captain Étienne-François de Cillart de Villeneuve,[lower-alpha 2] was off Cape of Good Hope escorting the transports Neker and Sévère. The squadron encountered the 50-gun HMS Hannibal, which captured the transports and brought them to Saint Helena.[8] Bellone sailed on to Isle de France and reinforced the French squadron under Rear-Admiral Thomas d'Estienne d'Orves.[8]

On 9 February 1782, Estienne d'Orves and Suffren assumed command of the squadron. He re-appointed his captains and gave command of Bellone to Jean André de Pas de Beaulieu.[9]

On 14 February 1782 Bellone captured the sloop HMS Chaser in a single ship action. The French took her into service as the corvette Chasseur.

On 1 March 1782, under Captain de Beaulieu, Bellone returned to Trinquebar from a cruise in the Indian Ocean, where she had captured or destroyed 14 merchantmen.[10] In April 1782, Bellone captured the East Indiaman Cartier, which came from China, and brought her to Batacalo.[11] In June of the same year, she captured a British "both", in the roads of Negapatnam that the French took into service as Negapatnam. The next month Negapatnam was at Pondicherry with the French squadron under Admiral Suffren, but her subsequent disposition is unknown.[12] Around late May, Bellone cut out the snow Raiker, with a cargo of arak, and three smaller ships, near the fort of Nagapattinam.[13]

In July 1782, in the wake of the Battle of Negapatam, Suffren promoted Beaulieu to the command of Brillant , replacing him with Pierrevert.[14]

On 12 August 1782, in the runup to the Battle of Trincomalee, Bellone had her mainmast damaged by a gust of wind and sailed to Batacalo for repairs. En route, she encountered HMS Coventry, under Andrew Mitchell. In the ensuing Action of 12 August 1782, Coventry killed or wounded the senior officers of Bellone, which allowed her to make good her escape.[15]

In the wake of the Battle of Trincomalee, Suffren sent Bellone to reconnaitre the harbour of Cuddalore and investigate whether a British attack was imminent. [16] Bellone returned on 23 September 1782 and could report that everything was quiet at Cuddalore.[17]

In January 1783, she was under Villaret-Joyeuse.[18]

Later career

On 5 February 1791, under Captain de Méhérenc de Saint Pierre, Bellone departed Brest with Amphitrite, bound for Martinique.[2]

From May to December 1792, she cruised the North Sea, before returning to Brest. On 8 October 1792, her commanding officer, Lieutenant Leprince, committed suicide, and the First Officer, Lieutenant Lafargue, took over.[2] In August 1793, she ran aground at Quibéron, but was successfully refloated.[2][1]

Bellone took part in the Glorious First of June.

In February 1795, under Lieutenant Anger, she crossed from Bergen to Brest.[2] She took part in the Expédition d'Irlande.[2]

Capture and fate

Under Commander Jacob, [2] Bellone took part in the Battle of Tory Island on 12 October 1798. There, she was captured by HMS Melampus [19] and HMS Ethalion,[20] and was commissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Proserpine. She had 20 killed and 45 wounded in the action.[1]

The Royal Navy hulked her, with Captain William Ferris commanding her from August 1804. Still, although officially "under repair" at Plymouth, she was never more than a hulk. The Navy sold her for breaking up on 27 August 1806.[3]

Notes
  1. The number of guns was reported to be 36 or even 40. Study of the wreck confirms that Bellone carried 32 guns.
  2. Étienne-François de Cillart de Villeneuve was brother to Jean-Marie de Villeneuve Cillart [7]

Citations
  1. Demerliac (1996), p. 63, n°380.
  2. Roche (2005), p. 71.
  3. Winfield (2008), p. 209.
  4. Roche (2005), p. 159.
  5. Lacour-Gayet (1910), p. 645.
  6. Monaque (2000), p. 38.
  7. Lacour-Gayet (1910), p. 647.
  8. Cunat (1852), p. 99.
  9. Cunat (1852), p. 103.
  10. Cunat (1852), p. 121.
  11. Cunat (1852), p. 144.
  12. Demerliac (1996), p. 127, #911.
  13. Cunat (1852), p. 164.
  14. Cunat (1852), p. 180.
  15. Cunat (1852), p. 200.
  16. Cunat (1852), p. 230.
  17. Cunat (1852), p. 231.
  18. Cunat (1852), p. 257.
  19. "Naval Database - HMS Melampus". Retrieved 19 February 2008.
  20. "Naval Database - HMS Ethalion". Retrieved 19 February 2008.

References
  • Cunat, Charles (1852). Histoire du Bailli de Suffren. Rennes: A. Marteville et Lefas. p. 447.
  • Demerliac, Alain (1996). La Marine de Louis XVI: Nomenclature des Navires Français de 1774 à 1792 (in French). Éditions Ancre. ISBN 2-906381-23-3.
  • Lacour-Gayet, Georges (1910). La marine militaire de la France sous le règne de Louis XVI. Paris: Honoré Champion.
  • Monaque, Rémi (2000). Les aventures de Louis-René de Latouche-Tréville, compagnon de La Fayette et commandant de l'Hermione (in French). Paris: SPM.
  • Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. Vol. 1. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922. (1671-1870)
  • Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-246-7.
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