HMS Monarch (1747)

Drawings of the sterns of two French warships captured at Cape Finisterre. Left is Terrible, and right, Monarque
History
France
Name:	Monarque
Builder:	Brest
Laid down:	January 1745
Launched:	March 1747
Completed:	July 1747
Captured:	By the Royal Navy on 14 October 1747
Great Britain
Name:	HMS Monarch
Acquired:	14 October 1747
Fate:	Sold for breaking up on 25 November 1760
General characteristics
Class and type:	74-gun third rate ship of the line
Tons burthen:	1,776 17/94 bm
Length:	174 ft 10 in (53.3 m) (overall) 149 ft 10 in (45.7 m) (keel)
Beam:	47 ft 2.5 in (14.4 m)
Depth of hold:	20 ft 1.5 in (6.13 m)
Sail plan:	Full-rigged ship
Complement:	650
Armament:	Lower deck: 28 x 32pdrs Upper deck: 30 x 18pdrs Quarter deck: 10 x 9pdrs Forecastle: 6 x 9pdrs

HMS Monarch was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She had previously served in the French Navy under the name Monarque.

Monarque was built during the War of the Austrian Succession, but lasted less than a year in French service. She was captured by the British just three months after being completed, one of several prizes taken by Sir Edward Hawke's fleet at the Battle of Cape Finisterre. Brought into the Royal Navy, she was used for the rest of the War of the Austrian Succession as a guardship and to carry troops. She saw service during the Seven Years' War, forming part of fleets sent to North America and the Mediterranean under Hawke, Boscawen and Osborn, and being commanded at one stage by future admiral George Rodney.

Monarch was the scene of the execution of Admiral Sir John Byng, who had been sentenced to death for failing to do his utmost during the Battle of Minorca (1756), and was shot on Monarch's quarterdeck on 14 March 1757. Monarch went out to the Mediterranean during the last years of the Seven Years' War, and played a role in the British victory at the Battle of Cartagena. She returned home and was reduced to harbour service, and was finally sold for breaking up in 1760.

Monarque was laid down at Brest in January 1745, and was built to a design by Blaise Ollivier. On Ollivier's death in October 1746, work on the ship was completed by Luc Coulomb. She was launched in March 1747, and was completed by July that year. Her career with the French was short-lived. She joined the fleet under Admiral Desherbiers de l'Etenduère in October 1747, with orders to escort a convoy across the Atlantic. The French were brought to battle off Cape Finisterre by a fleet under Admiral Sir Edward Hawke, and Monarque was one of the ships captured in the resulting defeat for the French, at the Battle of Cape Finisterre.