British Third Rate ship of the line 'Courageux' (1761)

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Courageux	317
Nominal Guns	74	BWAS-1714
Nationality	Great Britain
Operator	Royal Navy
Previously	French Third Rate ship of the line 'Le Courageux' (1753) (74) 1753-1761 French 74 Gun 3rd Rate Ship of the Line
Named	10.2.1762	BWAS-1714
Captured	13.8.1761	BWAS-1714
First Commissioned	25.7.1776	BWAS-1714
Shipyard	Brest - Brittany	BWAS-1714
Designed by	Jean GeoffroyFrench Designer Ship Builder	BWAS-1714
Constructor	Jean GeoffroyFrench Designer Ship Builder	NNF-1715
Category	Third Rate	BWAS-1714
Ship Type	Ship of the Line	BWAS-1714
Sailing Rig	Ship Rigged	BWAS-1714
Wrecked	18.12.1796	BWAS-1714

Dimensions

DimensionMeasurementTypeMetric EquivalentBWAS-1714
Length of Gundeck172' 3"Imperial Feet52.4267
Length of Keel140' 1 ⅛"Imperial Feet42.6752
Breadth48' 0 ⅜"Imperial Feet14.6399
Depth in Hold20' 10 ½"Imperial Feet6.1087
Burthen1,721 ³⁰⁄₉₄Tons BM

Armament

1761Broadside Weight = 781 Imperial Pound ( 354.1835 kg)W033
Lower Gun Deck28 British 32-Pounder
Upper Gun Deck28 British 18-Pounder
Quarterdeck14 British 9-Pounder
Forecastle4 British 9-Pounder

9 Ship Commanders

DatesRankNameSource
25.7.1776 - 7.2.1778Captain ADM 6/21/203BWAS-17147.2.1778 - 1.4.1783Captain ADM 6/21/363BWAS-17145.1790 - 2.1791CaptainBWAS-171410.5.1790 - 16.2.1791Captain ADM 6/24/27BWAS-171416.2.1791 - 10.9.1791Captain ADM 6/24/107ADM 6/2429.1.1793 - 13.9.1793Captain ADM 6/24/198BWAS-171413.9.1793 - 5.1795Captain ADM 6/24/297BWAS-17145.1795 - 1796CaptainBWAS-17141796 - 10.12.1796LieutenantBWAS-1714

17 Commissioned Officers

DatesRankNameSource
3.10.1776 - 3.12.1776First Lieutenant ADM 6/21/217ADM 6/2121.9.1790 - 15.2.1791Fifth Lieutenant ADM 6/24/69ADM 6/2425.9.1790 - 14.12.1790First Lieutenant ADM 6/24/70ADM 6/2425.9.1790 - 15.2.1791Fourth Lieutenant ADM 6/24/70ADM 6/2416.2.1791 - 29.6.1791Third Lieutenant ADM 6/24/107ADM 6/2416.2.1791 - 29.6.1791Fourth Lieutenant ADM 6/24/107ADM 6/2416.2.1791 - 15.7.1791Fifth Lieutenant ADM 6/24/107ADM 6/2430.6.1791 - 10.9.1791Second Lieutenant ADM 6/24/126ADM 6/2430.6.1791 - 10.9.1791Third Lieutenant ADM 6/24/126ADM 6/2416.7.1791 - 10.9.1791Fourth Lieutenant ADM 6/24/127ADM 6/2429.1.1793 - 1793First Lieutenant ADM 6/24/198ADM 6/2429.1.1793 - 1793Second Lieutenant ADM 6/24/198ADM 6/2429.1.1793 - 1793Third Lieutenant ADM 6/24/198ADM 6/244.2.1793 - 1793Fourth Lieutenant ADM 6/24/202ADM 6/245.2.1793 - 9.11.1793Fifth Lieutenant ADM 6/24/203ADM 6/2410.11.1793 - 1794Fifth Lieutenant ADM 6/25/50
Issued by , English Channel - British Isles
Confirmed 17.6.1794ADM 6/2518.2.1794 - 26.8.1795Lieutenant Transfered ADM 196/5/1NBD1849

2 Warrant Officers

DatesRankNameSource
1791 - bef.26.9.1791Third Surgeons' Materef:19811795CarpenterADM 171/8

3 Petty Officers

DatesRatingNameSource
9.1.1779 - 3.1780MidshipmanE-WIKI11.5.1793 - 24.5.1794MidshipmanNAO25.5.1794 - 17.2.1797Master's MateNAO

2 Crewmen

DatesRatingNameSource
26.2.1793 - 10.5.1793Able SeamanNAO1795Ordinary SeamanADM 171/8

Service History

DateEventSource
2.2.1762Purchased at Unknown at a cost of £9797.16.4dBWAS-1714
17.2.1762Established as a 74-gun Third rateBWAS-1714
8.7.1762Began large repair at Portsmouth Dockyard - Portsmouth BWAS-1714
14.6.1764Completed large repair at Portsmouth Dockyard - Portsmouth at a cost of £22380.11.4dBWAS-1714
1.1772Began middling repair at Portsmouth Dockyard - Portsmouth BWAS-1714
7.1773Completed middling repair at Portsmouth Dockyard - Portsmouth at a cost of £16420.19.10dBWAS-1714
7.1776First commissioned as a guard shipBWAS-1714
11.1776fitting at Portsmouth Dockyard - Portsmouth at a cost of £10132.6.2dBWAS-1714
7.1.1778Encounter between Belle-Poule and two british 74
27.7.17781st Battle of Ushant
4.1779Began coppering and fitting at Portsmouth Dockyard - Portsmouth BWAS-1714
5.1779Completed coppering and fitting at Portsmouth Dockyard - Portsmouth at a cost of £7468.7.0dBWAS-1714
31.12.1779Affair of Fielding and Bylandt
13.3.1780Took the Frigate ref:692
4.1.1781Took the Frigate
12.12.17812nd Battle of Ushant
4.1782refitting at Portsmouth Dockyard - Portsmouth at a cost of £8547.17.7dBWAS-1714
1.4.1783

Paid off

ADM 34
6.1787Began great repair at Portsmouth Dockyard - Portsmouth BWAS-1714
7.1789Completed great repair at Portsmouth Dockyard - Portsmouth at a cost of £30369.13.4dBWAS-1714
5.1790RecommissionedBWAS-1714
10.9.1791

Paid off

ADM 34
1.1793RecommissionedBWAS-1714
11.5.1793Sailed for the MediterraneanBWAS-1714
1.10.1793In attack on FoorneilleBWAS-1714
14.3.1795Action off Genoa
13.7.1795Battle of Hyeres
10.12.1796Wrecked in a gale on the coast of Morocco losing 464 drowned, 129 were savedBWAS-1714

Fleets
Dates	Fleet	Fleet Commander	Source
9.1782-12.1782	Fleet for the relief of Gibraltar 1782	Lord Richard Howe (4^th Viscount Howe)British Naval Sailor Marine Service 1736-1799

Sources

IDNameAuthorType

ADM 171/8British Admiralty, Document

ADM 34 Document

ADM 6/21 Archive

ADM 6/24 Archive

ADM 6/25 Archive

BWAS-1714Rif Winfield, Book

E-WIKIVarious, Web Site

NAOVarious, Web Site

NBD1849O'Brien, Digital Book

NNF-1715Alain Demerliac, Book

W033Ronald Deschenes, Web Site

ref:1981 Document

ref:692Jean Jacques Salein, Web Site

Previous comments on this page

Posted by Jon Miller on Wednesday 24th of June 2026 04:14

London, 18 May 1765: We hear that his Majesty’s ship Arrogant and Couragieux are ordered to be fitted out on an expedition to the East-Indies. [Exeter Mercury, 24 May 1765]

Posted by Jon Miller on Wednesday 24th of June 2026 04:13

London, 18 May 1765: We hear that his Majesty’s ship Arrogant and Couragieux are ordered to be fitted out on an expedition to the East-Indies. [Exeter Mercury, 24 May 1765]

Posted by Jon Miller on Monday 22nd of June 2026 18:35

Portsmouth: His Majesty’s ship the Arrogant, of 74 guns; the Courageux, of 74, and the Sasia, of 60 guns, are going to be put in commission; but where destined is not known, but imagined for the East-Indies. The Thunderer of 74 guns, appointed for the West-Indies, is now countermanded, and ordered into harbour, the first fair wind as a guard-ship. [Exeter Mercury, 25 January 1765]

Posted by Jon Miller on Thursday 11th of June 2026 13:20

A letter from Lisbon, written by an officer on board the fleet, under Sir John Jervis, dated Jan 1st, 1797, says: “Since I wrote you last I have received some accounts of the Courageux, and although they confirm the loss of the ship, yet I am happy to learn, that the whole of the crew are not lost, as I first dreaded. The master and 122 of the crew having got on shore on the coast of Barbary, many of them much bruised and maimed – every officer , with the remainder of thee crew, unfortunately perished." [Hampshire Chronicle, 21 January 1797]

Posted by Jon Miller on Thursday 11th of June 2026 09:33

His Majesty’s ship Courageux was, we understand, driven out of Gibraltar bay in a violent gale of wind, termed a Levanter. The captain and some of the officers were not on board the ship at the time; the former was sitting on a court martial. The Courageux was driven over to the Barbary shore, on which she was unfortunately wrecked. She was a very old French ship, which was taken in an engagement in the year 1761, and was commanded all last war by Lord Mulgrave. [Hampshire Chronicle, 7 January 1797]

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