French ship Languedoc (1766)

The "Languedoc" was a ship of the line of the French Navy, flagship of admiral d'Estaing.

She was offered to king Louis XV by the Languedoc, as part of a national effort to rebuild the navy after the Seven Years' War. She was designed by the naval architect Joseph Coulomb.

In 1776, France decided to intervene in the American war of Independence. Admiral d'Estaing was ordered to bring the fleet to the Americas. He set his mark on the "Languedoc", after an upgrade to 90 guns. The 12-ship fleet set sail on the 13 April 1778.

The "Languedoc" reached New York on the 5 July. On the 10th of August, the French fleet encountered the English fleets of Admirals Howe and Byron. A tempest broke out, and the "Languedoc" lost her riggings and her steer. The 50-gun "Renown" racked her, but she was saved by the timely arrival of the French squadron led by Suffren.

The "Languedoc" then took part in the conquest of Grenada, in April 1779.

The "Langudeoc" returned to France, where she was refitted. In 1781, she set sail in the fleet of Admiral de Grasse, under captain d'Argelos. She took part in the Battle of the Chesapeake.

At the Battle of the Saintes, the "Languedoc" was following the flagship "Ville de Paris". The French fleet was parted in two, and the "Languedoc" eventually fled the battle, leaving Grasse to be captured. The "Languedoc" then joined with La Pérouse, and reached Brest on the 28 June 1783. Argelos was trialed for his behaviour at the Saintes and found innocent, Grasse being found ultimately responsible.

The "Languedoc" was refitted and upgraded by engineer Jacques-Noël Sané. On the 5 September 1792, she set sail under Admiral de Latouche Tréville. She took part in the capaign off Italy, and was badly damaged in the tempests of December. On the 7 February, she took part in the landing of troops in Sardinia.

She sailed back to Toulon and undertook extensive repairs. Toulon fell to the hands of the English and was retaken by the French. The "Languedoc", deemed unusable, was not destroyed when the English left the city. She was renamed "Antifédéraliste", at the height of Robespierre's power, and renamed again to "Victoire" after his fall.

As "Victoire", under captain Savary, she took part in the campaign off Italy, where she confronted Nelson's squadron. She served off Canada in 1796, returned to France, and was deemed too old to take part in the landing in Ireland.

She was used as a floating barracks off Venice, where she is thought to have been scuttled.

External links

* [http://perso.orange.fr/cabinet.marsaudon/languedocfr.htm Le Languedoc (1761–98) Histoire d'un Vaisseau de Ligne de la fin du XVIIIème Siècle]