Action of 4 September 1782

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Action of 4 September 1782
Part of the American Revolutionary War

Hébé (right) as HMS Hebe in 1795
Date4 September 1782
Location
Off the Île de Batz, English Channel
Result British victory[1]
Belligerents
Great Britain France
Commanders and leaders
Henry Trollope Chevalier de Vigny
Strength
1 frigate 1 frigate
Casualties and losses
1 killed
2 wounded		 5 killed
7 wounded
360 captured
1 frigate captured[2]

The action of 4 September 1782 was a single-ship action fought off the Île de Batz between the French Navy frigate Hébé and Royal Navy frigate HMS Rainbow. It was the first military engagement to see the proper use of British carronade design, which proved so effective that Hébé promptly struck her colours right after the first broadside from Rainbow.[3]

Battle

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Portrait of Trollope

On 4 September the 44-gun frigate HMS Rainbow under Captain Henry Trollope, armed entirely with carronades, was off the French coast near the Île de Batz when a frigate was sighted. Having then chased the vessel, it turned out to be a French frigate, Hébé. The 1,063-ton Hébé was a new ship of the class of the same name whose armament consisted of 38 guns, 26 of which were 18-pounder long guns. It was commanded by the Chevalier de Vigny (uncle of Alfred de Vigny) and had on board 360 men. Hébé had left Saint-Malo on 3 September and was heading to Brest escorting a small convoy.[4] At 7:00 am, having arrived within gunshot of the French ship, the Rainbow commenced firing 32-pounder chase guns from the forecastle, which were returned by the frigate. One 32-pound ball shot away Hébé's wheel and killed her second captain.

Vigny examined the fragments of the hollow carronade shot and concluded that if she was firing 32-pounders as chase pieces, she was actually a ship of the line in disguise. He fired one broadside, "pour l'honneur du pavillon" (the honour of the flag), and struck his colours.[2] The surrender of Hébé after slight resistance was not surprising when taking into consideration the advantage provided by the unusual armament of the Rainbow.[5][6] Rainbow lost only one man killed and two slightly wounded. The French lost five killed, including the second captain, Yves-Gabriel Calloët de Lanidy, and several wounded out of a crew of 360 men.[2]

Aftermath

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A council of war was met at Morlaix whereby the loss of a new frigate, with barely a fight, condemned Vigny to fifteen years in prison, the case of his rank and service being declared as unfit for service. The captured ship was immediately integrated into the Royal Navy as HMS Hebe. After being renamed HMS Blonde in 1805 it was finally broken up in 1811.[7] More importantly for the Navy, Hebe would serve as a model for a new series of British frigates, the Leda class, the first of which was launched in 1800. The new class would include HMS Surprise (1812), HMS Trincomalee (1817), HMS Unicorn (1824), and a second HMS Hebe (1826).[7]

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ Blake p. 37
  2. ^ a b c Allen p. 347
  3. ^ Rodger (2004), p. 420
  4. ^ James & Chamier, William & Frederick (1837). The Naval History of Great Britain: From the Declaration of War by France in 1793, to the Accession of George IV. R. Bentley. p. 37.
  5. ^ Clarke & Jones, James Stanier & Stephen (1807). The Naval Chronicle, Volume 18. J. Gold. pp. 354–55.
  6. ^ "Introducing the Carronade". Age of Sail: Life at sea during the age of wooden ships and iron men. 22 February 2009. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  7. ^ a b Gardiner, p. 94

Bibliography

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