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Serapis | 19031 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominal Guns | 50 | NNF-1610 | |
| Nationality | Royaume de France | ||
| Operator | Marine Royale | ||
| Previously | British Fifth Rate ship of the line 'Serapis' (1779) (44)
1779-1779 British 44 Gun 5th Rate Ship of the Line | ||
| Captured | 23.9.1779 | NNF-1610 | |
| First Commissioned | 12.1779 | NNF-1610 | |
| Shipyard | Rotherhithe - London - Surrey | BWAS-1714 | |
| Designed by | Sir Thomas SladeBritish Designer Ship Builder Dockyard Staff Service 1744-1783 | BWAS-1714 | |
| Constructor | John RandallBritish Designer Ship Builder Service 1780-1802 | BWAS-1714 | |
| Category | Fourth Rate | NNF-1610 | |
| Ship Type | Ship of the Line | NNF-1610 | |
| Sailing Rig | Ship Rigged | NNF-1610 | |
| Burnt | 31.7.1781 | FWIKI | |
Between October and December 1779 , Serapis was in the Texel .
FWIKIBy September 1780 she was probably at Lorient .
The French Royal Navy commissioned Sérapis , and loaned her to a civilian master named Roche who planned to use the ship against the British in the Indian Ocean .
FWIKIOn 31 July 1781, Sérapis was at Madagascar , trading spirits and arak for rice , when the load master, Lieutenant de Frégate L'Héritier , had candles taken out of their fire-proof lanterns . The candles ignited alcohol vapour in the hull . The crew fought the fire for two and a half hours , but the flames eventually burned through the walls of the spirit locker and reached a powder magazine . The resulting explosion ripped the stern off the ship , sinking her . While 8 men lost their lives , 215 people survived . The privateer Daliram returned them to Ile Sainte-Marie , Madagascar .
FWIKI