French ship Aquilon (1789)

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Aquilon was a 4th rank, 74-gun built for the French Navy during the 1780s. Completed in 1785, she played a minor role in the French Revolutionary Wars.

Description

The Téméraire-class ships had an length of , a beam of and a depth of hold of . The ships displaced 3,069 tonneaux and had a mean draught of . They had a tonnage of 1,537 port tonneaux. Their crew numbered 705 officers and ratings during wartime. They were fitted with three masts and ship rigged.

The muzzle-loading, smoothbore armament of the Téméraire class consisted of twenty-eight 36-pounder long guns on the lower gun deck, thirty 18-pounder long guns and thirty 18-pounder long guns on the upper gun deck. On the quarterdeck and forecastle were a total of sixteen 8-pounder long guns. Beginning with the ships completed after 1787, the armament of the Téméraires began to change with the addition of four 36-pounder obusiers on the poop deck (). Some ships had instead twenty 8-pounders.

Construction and career

Aquilon was laid down at the Arsenal de Rochefort in August 1787. The ship was launched 8 June 1789 and completed in June 1790. She participated in the Italian campaign of 1796–1797, returning to Toulon in April 1798. She served off Italy in Vice-Admiral Brueys' squadron under Captain Antoine-René Thévenard, and took part in the Battle of the Nile, where she fought , and . She was captured and recommissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Aboukir.

References

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