Orient (80)
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Origin and History
The ship was built at Lorient by Antoine Groignard for the Compagnie des Indes. Construction started in March 1755 and the ship was launched on June 9 1756. She was first commissioned in August 1757. In May 1759, the ship was bought by the Marine Royale.
During the Seven Years' War, the ship was under the command of:
- in November 1759: Captain N. de la Filière
In 1778, the ship was reclassed as a 74-gun.
The ship was wrecked at Trincomalee on the coasts of Ceylon on September 7 1782.
Service during the War
In November 1759, in preparation for the planned invasion of England, the ship set sail for Quiberon Bay with the Brest Fleet. On November 20, she took part in the battle of Quiberon. After the defeat, during the night of November 20 to 21, the ship along with 7 other French ships of the line hauled in for the Aix island and took refuge at Rochefort.
Characteristics
| Guns | 80
| ||||||
| Crew | 14 officers and 852 men | ||||||
| Length at gundeck | 174' (56.52 m) in French feet | ||||||
| Width | 44' (14.32 m) | ||||||
| Depth | 20' 6" (6.66 m) | ||||||
| Displacement | 1800 tons |
References
French Wikipedia, L'Orient (1756)
Harrison, Simon and Manuel Blasco, 3 Decks
N.B.: the section Service during the War is mostly derived from our articles depicting the various campaigns, battles and sieges.
