French ship Censeur (1782)
| History | |
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.svg){kind=small}   France
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| Name: | Censeur |
| Builder: | Rochefort |
| Laid down: | August 1781 |
| Launched: | 24 August 1782 |
| Commissioned: | By October 1782 |
| Captured: | By the British at the Battle of Genoa on 14 March 1795 |
 Great Britain
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| Name: | Censeur |
| Acquired: | Captured from the French on 14 March 1795 |
| Captured: | By the French on 7 October 1795 |
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France
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| Name: | Révolution |
| Fate: | Transferred to Spain and broken up in 1799 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | 74-gun Pégase-class ship of the line |
| Tons burthen: | 1,820 bm |
| Length: |
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| Beam: | 48 ft 0.75 in (14.6495 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 21 ft 4 in (6.50 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Sail plan: | Full rigged ship |
| Complement: | 640 |
| Armament: | 74 guns of various weights of shot |
Censeur was a 74-gun Pégase-class ship of the line of the French Navy, launched in 1782. She served during the last months of the American War of Independence, and survived to see action in the French Revolutionary Wars. She was briefly captured by the British, but was retaken after a few months and taken back into French service as Révolution. She served until 1799, when she was transferred to the Spanish Navy, but was found to be rotten and was broken up.
Censeur was laid down at Rochefort in August 1781 to a design by Antoine Groignard. Launched on 24 August 1782, she had entered service by October that year. She was one of the ships captured during the occupation of Toulon in 1793, though she was left to fall into Republican hands intact in the withdrawal.
On 3 March 1795 Censeur, under her captain Louis-Marie Coudé, formed part of a fleet of 15 ships of the line under the command of Rear-Admiral Pierre Martin, which sailed from Toulon bound for Corsica with 5,000 troops. The fleet was intercepted in the Gulf of Genoa on 13 March by a British force under the command of Vice-Admiral William Hotham, which promptly gave chase to the French. Martin attempted to flee, but in the confusion two of his 80-gun ships, Ça Ira and Victoire, collided, causing the Ça Ira to lose her fore and main topmasts. Several British ships, including the 64-gun HMS Agamemnon under Captain Horatio Nelson, came up to the straggling Ça Ira and opened fire, causing Martin to double back to protect her. A cautious Hotham called his ships back and reformed the line, and as night fell Martin disengaged and resumed his flight, with the Censeur towing the Ça Ira. At daybreak on 14 March the British resumed their attack on the still lagging Ça Ira and Censeur. Martin again attempted to come to their aid, but after some heavy fighting, withdrew with his transports, leaving both ships to be captured by the British. The two ships fought on until Censeur had lost her fore and main masts, and sustained combined casualties of 400 men.
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Wikipedia