French Third Rate ship of the line 'L'Hector' (1755)

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Sir William BoltonBritish
Naval Sailor
Service 1795-1815
Centaur (74) 1797-1819
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(1797)
Lord Richard Howe (1^st Earl Howe)British
Naval Sailor
Marine
Service 1736-1799
Anthony FortyeBritish
Naval Sailor
Service 1737-1738
George BlyteBritish
Naval Sailor
Service 1735-1758
Sir Alexander SchombergBritish
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L'Enfant de la Patrie (16) 1796-1797
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L'Hector
Nominal Guns	74	NNF-1715
Nationality	Royaume de France
Operator	Marine Royale
Keel Laid Down	7.1752	NNF-1715
Launched	23.7.1755	NNF-1715
First Commissioned	5.1756	NNF-1715
How acquired	Purpose built	NNF-1715
Shipyard	Toulon - Provence	NNF-1715
Ship Class	Hector Class (1755)	NNF-1715
Designed by	Joseph-Marie-Blaise CoulombFrench Designer Ship Builder Service 1755-1789	NNF-1715
Constructor	Joseph-Marie-Blaise CoulombFrench Designer Ship Builder Service 1755-1789	NNF-1715
Category	Third Rate	NNF-1715
National Rate	Premier Rang	NNF-1715
Ship Type	Ship of the Line	NNF-1715
Sailing Rig	Ship Rigged	NNF-1715
Captured	12.4.1782	NNF-1715

Dimensions

DimensionMeasurementTypeMetric EquivalentNNF-1715
Length of Gundeck164' 0"French Feet (Pied du Roi)53.2672 (174′ 9″ Imperial)
Length of Keel145' 6"French Feet (Pied du Roi)47.0996 (154′ 6″ Imperial)
Breadth43' 0"French Feet (Pied du Roi)13.9664 (45′ 9″ Imperial)
Depth in Hold20' 6"French Feet (Pied du Roi)6.6584 (21′ 10″ Imperial)
Burthen1,450Ton

Armament

5.1756Broadside Weight = 838 French Livre (904.3696 lbs 410.201 kg)NNF-1715
Lower Gun Deck28 French 36-Pounder
Upper Gun Deck30 French 18-Pounder
Quarterdeck/Forecastle16 French 8-Pounder

Crew Complement

Date# of MenNotesSource
5.17566266 officers, 620 menNNF-1715

5 Ship Commanders

DatesRankNameSource
29.6.1756 - 13.8.1756Capitaine de Vaisseauref:17621757Chef d'EscadreBNF27.3.1763 - 18.6.1763Capitaine de Vaisseauref:6721.3.1780 - 10.9.1780Capitaine de Vaisseau TransferedFWIKI1781Capitaine de VaisseauE-WIKI

2 Commissioned Officers

DatesRankNameSource
1761 - 1763Lieutenant de Vaisseauref:6733.1779 - 1779Lieutenant de VaisseauFWIKI

2 Warrant Officers

DatesRankNameSource
1757Enseigne de Vaisseauref:6734.1778 - 3.1779Enseigne de Vaisseauref:673

Service History

DateEventSource
5.4.1757Action of April 5 1757
8.1757Louisbourg Expedition
14.8.1778Took the Sloop off Sandy Hook
14.12.1778Battle of St. Lucia
6.7.1779Battle of Grenada
29.4.1781Battle of Fort Royal
5.9.1781Battle of the Chesapeake
25.1.1782Battle of Saint Kitts
9.4.1782Action off Dominique
12.4.1782Battle of the Saintes

Fleets
Dates	Fleet	Fleet Commander	Source
23.12.1761-8.11.1762	Blenac Squadron for the Windward islands 1761	Charles de Courbon (Comte de Blenac)French Naval Sailor Administrator Service 1725-1764

Sources

IDNameAuthorType

BNF2Onesime-Joachim Troude, Digital Book

E-WIKIVarious, Web Site

FWIKIVarious, Web Site

NNF-1715Alain Demerliac, Book

ref:1762 Thesis

ref:672 Web Site

ref:673 Web Site

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Recent comments to other pages

Date posted	By	Page
Saturday 13th of June 2026 07:56	Jon Miller	Sir William BoltonBritish Naval Sailor Service 1795-1815
Saturday 13th of June 2026 07:54	Jon Miller	British Third Rate ship of the line 'Centaur' (1797) (74) 1797-1819 British 74 Gun 3rd Rate Ship of the Line
Saturday 13th of June 2026 07:52	Jon Miller	Lord Richard Howe (1^st Earl Howe)British Naval Sailor Marine Service 1736-1799
Saturday 13th of June 2026 07:51	Jon Miller	Anthony FortyeBritish Naval Sailor Service 1737-1738
Saturday 13th of June 2026 07:51	Jon Miller	George BlyteBritish Naval Sailor Service 1735-1758

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