French frigate Gentille (1778)

History
France
Name	Gentille
Namesake	"nice"
Ordered	17 August 1779
Builder	Saint-Malo[1]
Laid down	July 1777
Launched	18 June 1778
In service	August 1778
Captured	11 April 1795
General characteristics [2]
Class and type	Iphigénie-class frigate
Tons burthen	620 tonnes
Length	44.2 metres
Beam	11.2 metres
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Armament	32 guns

Gentille was an Iphigénie-class 32-gun frigate of the French Navy.

French service

In 1779, Gentille was under Mengaud de la Haye. On 17 August 1779, she and Junon, under Bernard de Marigny, captured the 64-gun HMS Ardent.[1]

On 26 April 1780 Gentille and Iphigénie captured HMS Fortune off Barbuda.[3] The frigates belonged to Guichen’s squadron.

On 19 February 1781, in Chesapeake Bay, Gentille took part in the capture of the 44-gun HMS Romulus, along with the 64-gun Éveillé, the frigate Surveillante, and the cutter Guêpe, captured her in Chesapeake Bay.[1][4] In September, she ferried troops from Annapolis to James River, in support of the Siege of Yorktown.[1]

During the War of the First Coalition, Gentille cruised the Atlantic under Lieutenant Canon. She was captured by the 74-gun HMS Hannibal and Robust in the action of 10 April 1795.[1]

Fate

Gentille was broken up in 1802.[2]

Citations

1. Roche (2005), p. 223.
2. Roche (2005), p. 224.
3. Roche (2005), p. 110.
4. Roche (2005), p. 386.

References

• Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. Vol. 1. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922. (1671-1870)

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