French ship Belle Poule (1765)

The "Belle-Poule" was a French frigate, famous for her duel against the English frigate HMS "Arethusa" on the 17 June 1778, which began the French intervention in the American War of Independence.

1768 - 1778

The "Belle-Poule" was built in 1765 in Bordeaux.

She served in two campaigns in the West Indies, where due to her good sailing performance she was selected for the first French attempt at covering her hull with copper to resist marine growths.

From 1772 to 1776, she was sent on hydrographic missions, during which the young Lapérouse came to the attention of his superiors.

On the 12 December 1776, she left India to return to Brest; at the time, France was not yet engaged in the American War of Independence, but there had been numerous incidents involving French and British ships. Indeed, on the 27 April 1777, the "Belle-Poule" was chased by a British ship of the line, which she easily evaded to reach Brest.

1778 - 1808

In January 1778, the "Belle-Poule" was selected to ferry Benjamin Franklin back to America. On the 7 January, she was stopped by the English ships of the line "Hector" and "Courageous", who demanded to inspect her. In spite of the overwhelming superiority of the British forces, her captain, Bernard de Marigny, answered:

The English offered apologies and let the frigate sail through. However, opposing winds prevented the ship from crossing the Atlantic, and after 36 days, the "Belle-Poule" had to return to Brest. Franklin later sailed to America aboard the " Sensible". When war broke out, the "Belle-Poule" was sent on a reconnaissance mission, along with the 26-gun frigate "Licorne", the corvette "Hirondelle" and the smaller "Coureur", to locate the squadron of Admiral Keppel. They encountered and were chased by the British squadron. HMS "Arethusa" reached the French, and a furious battle ensued, after which the "Arethusa" had to retrat toward her fleet, having lost her main mast. The smaller ships of the French flotilla were captured, but the two frigates escaped the numerous ships of the line pursuing them. "Belle-Poule" had 30 killed, among which her captain, commandant de La Clocheterie. The battle was so famous that ladies of the high society invented the hairstyle "Belle-Poule", with a ship on the top of the head.

Between September and October 1778, "Belle-Poule" teamed up with French ship "Vengeur" and captured 5 privateers.

In 1779, the "Belle-Poule" served as coast guard and convoy escort. During the night of the July 15 - 16, she was chased by the 64-gun ship of the line HMS "Nonsuch" off Île d'Yeu, and eventually struck her colours after several hours of battle. Her commanding officer, captain Kergariou, was killed.

She was commissioned in the English Royal Navy, put in the reserve in 1789, and scrapped in 1808.