Second Battle of Cape Finisterre (1747)

Second Battle of Cape Finisterre
Part of the War of the Austrian Succession
French battleship Intrépide fighting against several British ships, by Pierre-Julien Gilbert
Date 25 October 1747 Location Off Cape Finisterre 47°49′N 12°0′W / 47.817°N 12.000°W / 47.817; -12.000Coordinates: 47°49′N 12°0′W / 47.817°N 12.000°W / 47.817; -12.000 Result Decisive British victory
Belligerents
Great Britain	France
Commanders and leaders
Rear-Admiral Sir Edward Hawke	Admiral Desherbiers de l'Etenduère
Strength
14 ships of the line	8 ships of the line 252 merchantmen and others
Casualties and losses
154 killed 558 wounded	6 ships of the line captured 800 killed and wounded, 4,000 captured 7 ships of the convoy captured

The Second Battle of Cape Finisterre was a naval battle which took place on 25 October 1747 (14 October 1747 in the Julian calendar then in use in Britain) during the War of the Austrian Succession. A British fleet of fourteen ships of the line commanded by Rear-Admiral Sir Edward Hawke intercepted a French convoy protected by eight French ships of the line commanded by Admiral Desherbiers de l'Etenduère.

The battle took place in the eastern Atlantic, roughly halfway between Ireland and Cape Finisterre in northwest Spain. It was a decisive British victory that has been described as "the most brilliant naval action of the war". It put an end to French naval operations for the remainder of the war, thus eliminating any threat of an invasion of Britain and threatening the very existence of France's empire overseas.

North America was a secondary theatre of the War of the Austrian Succession, principally fought between France and Britain, and was a source of raw materials for both sides. Britain's Royal Navy had disrupted France's transatlantic trade in the past, notably at the First Battle of Cape Finisterre on 14 May 1747. France made a second attempt to reopen the supply routes in October of that year, assembling 252 merchantmen in the Basque Roads off La Rochelle. They would be protected by eight men-of-war from Brest.

The British got wind of this huge convoy, and dispatched a squadron of 14 smaller ships from Plymouth on 20 August (9 August Julian). Hawke was given the command at the last minute after Sir Peter Warren had fallen ill with scurvy. The French set off on 17th (6th) October, and were sighted by Hawke's fleet eight days later at 7am.

Initially Hawke thought he was up against a much larger fleet of warships, and formed a line of battle; when the French responded in kind Hawke realised that he was faced by inferior numbers that could be progressively enveloped by a "swarm" of ships. This allowed the British to make up for their inferior individual firepower by concentrating their fire on one ship at a time as Anson had done back in May, rather than rigidly sticking to a line of battle. At first the French mistook the British ships for members of the convoy; on realising their mistake the French hoped to use their warships to just divert the British for long enough that the merchants had a chance to escape into the vastness of the Atlantic.

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Wikipedia