French ship Impétueux (1787)
{{short description|Ship of the line of the French Navy}}
{{other ships|French ship Impétueux}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
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{{Téméraire class default image}} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=France |Ship flag={{Shipboxflag|Kingdom of France|naval}} File:Flag of French-Navy-Revolution.svg |Ship name=Impétueux |Ship namesake=Impetuous |Ship ordered= |Ship builder=Rochefort |Ship laid down=1786 |Ship launched=25 August 1787 |Ship acquired= |Ship commissioned=1788 |Ship decommissioned= |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship renamed= |Ship struck= |Ship reinstated= |Ship captured=1 June 1794 |Ship notes= |Ship honours= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header=title |Ship country=Great Britain |Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Kingdom of Great Britain|naval}} |Ship name=Impétueux |Ship namesake= |Ship acquired=1 June 1794 |Ship commissioned= |Ship decommissioned= |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship renamed= |Ship struck= |Ship reinstated= |Ship captured= |Ship fate=Destroyed by fire on 24 August 1794 |Ship notes= |Ship honours= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Ship class={{sclass|Téméraire|ship of the line}} |Ship displacement=*1,966 tonnes
|Ship length={{convert|55.87|m|ft}} (172 pied) |Ship beam={{convert|14.90|m|ftin}} |Ship draught={{convert|7.26|m|ft}} (22 pied) |Ship propulsion=Up to {{convert|2485|m2|sqft|abbr=on}} of sails |Ship armament=*74 guns:
|Ship armour=Timber }} |
Impétueux was a {{sclass|Téméraire|ship of the line|4}} 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.
She took part in the Glorious First of June in 1794. During the battle, {{HMS|Marlborough|1767|6}} became tangled with Impétueux. Badly damaged and on the verge of surrender, Impétueux received a brief reprieve when Mucius appeared through the smoke and collided with both ships.{{cite book |last=Padfield |first=Peter |author-link= Peter Padfield |year=2000 |orig-year=1976 |page=33 |title=Nelson's War |publisher=Wordsworth Military Library |location=Ware, Hertfordshire |isbn=1-84022-225-5 |oclc=43500487 }} The three entangled ships continued exchanging fire, all suffering heavy casualties with Marlborough and Impétueux losing all three of their masts. This combat continued for several hours. Captain Berkeley of Marlborough had to retire below with serious wounds, and command fell to Lieutenant John Monkton, who signalled for help from the frigates in reserve.{{cite book |last=James |first=William |year=2002 |orig-year=1827 |title=The Naval History of Great Britain, Volume 1, 1793-1796 |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |location=London }} Robert Stopford responded in HMS Aquilon (1786), which had the assignment of repeating signals, and towed Marlborough out of the line as Mucius freed herself and made for the regrouped French fleet to the north. Impétueux was in too damaged a state to move at all and sailors from {{HMS|Russell|1764|6}} soon seized her.{{cite book |editor-last=Tracy |editor-first=Nicholas |year=1998 |title=The Naval Chronicle, Volume 1, 1793-1798 |publisher=Chatham |location=London |isbn=1-86176-091-4 |oclc=60158681 }}
The Royal Navy intended to take into service as HMS Impetueux, but she was destroyed in an accidental fire at Portsmouth on 24 August 1794 and so was never commissioned. During the battle of The Glorious First of June, the Royal Navy had also captured her sister ship {{Ship|French ship|America|1788|2}}, which it renamed HMS Impetueux in 1795.
See also
References
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Category:Ships of the line of the French Navy
Category:Téméraire-class ships of the line
Category:Shipwrecks in the Solent
Category:Maritime incidents in 1794
Category:Ships built in France
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