1739 - Birth in France of a New Man-of-War, the 74

The 74-gun Terrible was lately launched in Toulon dockyard. Built after a design by François Coulomb the Younger, aged 48, this ship seems to be the prototype of a new sort of mighty two-deckers. Coulomb streamlined and enlarged the hull of former 74s so as to reach superb qualities of seakeeping and of swiftness as well as to accommodate 28 guns at the main deck, 30 guns at the upper deck, 10 guns at the quarterdeck and 6 more at the forecastle.

¤ The previous French 74s were already rather successful ships but, in comparison, lacked both swiftness and strength. The series of four ships built in 1719-22, Bourbon, Sceptre, Saint-Philippe and Duc d'Orléans, were heavily armed in their days with twenty-six 36-pounders on the lower deck, twenty-eight 18-pounders on the upper deck, sixteen 8-pounders and four 4-pounders. They should be rated as 70s as the four light guns are negligible.

This new design appears as extremely well-balanced. However, from a British decision-maker's viewpoint, with 1,590 tons and 164 feet on the gun deck, this ship may seem very large for the firepower she can deliver. She is as large as a British 90 which might appear as some wastage of resources. In return, she comes to be highly seaworthy, fast, manoeuvrable and she carries heavy guns, namely twenty-eight 36-pounders, thirty 18-pounders and sixteen 8-pounders, that she can all fire in a seaway - a most valuable advantage.

¤ She carries 78 guns actually but the extra four guns are 4-pounders set on the stern. Nobody reckons those light guns when assessing effective ship firepower.

François Coulomb the Younger is the son of renowned François Coulomb the Elder, and the grandson of equally famous Laurent Coulomb, shipbuilders of King Louis XIV's era at the Royal dockyard of Toulon. Their offspring already made his own name five years ago. He built a reference ship with the 64-gun Borée (1734), rehearsing the recipe that he has now repeated on Terrible. Through enlarging, lengthening and slightly spacing heavier armament, namely twenty-six 24-pounders on the lower deck of Borée instead of twenty-four on rival ships - a slight change seemingly but pivotal in 64 development - he got a much better ship.

This is not the first attempt of making a mighty two-decker as a game changer. The Spaniards went even earlier and a step farther than the French ten years ago : they launched two very large 70-gun 1,700-ton sisterships in 1729 and 1731, Principe and Princesa. This breakthrough was imagined by eminent Ciprián Autrán, 42 years old by now, a French shipwright whose name has been given a Spanish turn as he has been in the service of Spain since 1726, at the dockyard of Guarnizo.

¤ Besides a few outstanding two-deckers, he is also the designer of the giant 114-gun three-decker Real Felipe (1732).

Today, in this year which ends twenty years of peace and sees the beginnings of Jenkins' ears war between Britain and Spain, for the naval architects of Spain and of France, the game consists of escalating unit value so as to attempt to make up for the number of ships of the line.

¤ A hundred and twenty British units can be deployed in the line on short notice, while it would be difficult for France as for Spain to line up twenty vessels each. Superiority of Britain is overwhelming, even versus a possible coalition of the two Bourbons' fleets.

COMPARISON OF LATE MEN-OF-WAR

length of gun deck, length of keel, breadth, depth, tonnage, armament - feet and tons

Princesa (Spain, 1731) 165 130¼ 49¾ 22¼ 1710 28 x 36 - 28 x 18 - 14 x 9 = 70

Marlborough (Britain, 1732) 164 132½ 47¼ 18¾ 1570 26 x 32 - 26 x 18 - 26 x 9 - 12 x 6 = 90

Russell (Britain, 1735) 158 128¼ 44½ 18¼ 1350 26 x 32 - 26 x 12 - 24 x 6 - 4 x 6 = 80

Prince of Orange (Britain, 1734) 151 123¼ 41½ 17½ 1130 26 x 24 - 26 x 12 - 18 x 6 = 70

Duke (Britain, 1739) 166 134 47¾ 19½ 1620 as Marlborough

Cumberland (Britain, 1739) 158 127¾ 45½ 18½ 1400 as Russell

Suffolk (Britain, 1739) 151 122 43½ 17¾ 1220 as Prince of Orange

Terrible (France, 1739) 164 134 47¾ 20½ 1590 28 x 36 - 30 x 18 - 16 x 8 = 74

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LINK WITH PREVIOUS CHRONICLE

1719 - New Establishment in Britain

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IN RETROSPECT FROM TODAY

Note A - on Princesa.

She is captured in 1740 by three 70-gun British vessels after a harsh and lengthy fight. The third ship has been too much but the first two have been no match for the Spanish champion. She has proven to be extremely tough, which leaves a profound impression on British sailors and shipwrights. She enters British service as a 'glorious' ship as everyone says.

Note B - on Terrible.

She is captured by the British fleet during the second battle of Cape Finisterre (1747) and enter British service afterwards. She is not copied as the Britons detain an even better ship as a model, the impressive 74-gun 1,790-ton Invincible (1744) which has been captured too, but in the first battle of Cape Finisterre, earlier in 1747.

Note C - on the 74 Terrible model fate.

This is the birth record of the most famous type of ship of the line in the Age of Sail - a type which will count hundreds ships built during three quarters of a century until the end of Napoleonic wars. Smaller vessels will progressively disappear from the line of battle.

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SUGGESTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Georges Lacour-Gayet - La marine Militaire française sous le règne de Louis XV - Paris, 1902 - available on the Internet

Martine Acerra & André Zysberg - L'essor des Marines de guerre européennes vers 1680-1790 - Paris, 1997 - available on the Internet