French ship Pégase (1781)

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Pégase and HMS Pegasus.

Pégase. Detail of "Foudroyant and Pégase entering Portsmouth Harbour, 1782". Painting by Dominic Serres
History
France
Name	Pégase
Launched	5 October 1781
Captured	21 April 1782, by Royal Navy
Great Britain
Name	Pegase
Acquired	21 April 1782
Fate	Broken up, 1815
General characteristics
Class and type	74-gun Pégase-class ship of the line
Tons burthen	1,500 bm
Length	55.2 m (181 ft 1 in)
Beam	14.3 m (46 ft 11 in)
Draught	6.8 m (22 ft 4 in)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	600
Armament	74 guns of various weights of shot, later upgraded to 78

Pégase was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, lead ship of her class, launched in 1781.

Career

Pégase took part in the Battle of Ushant on 21 April 1782. She was captured by HMS Foudroyant, under Captain John Jervis.[1] Jervis was invested Knight of the Order of the Bath for the capture.[2]

Pégase was bought into the Royal Navy and commissioned as the third rate HMS Pegase. She served as a prison ship in Portsmouth from 1799, and was broken up in 1815.

See also

• List of ships captured in the 18th century

Citations

1. Winfield. British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714-1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. p. 68.
2. "No. 13694". The London Gazette. 28 May 1782. p. 4.

References

• Lavery, Brian (2003) The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.
• Winfield, Rif and Roberts, Stephen (2015) French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786-1861: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-204-2.