The Pégase class was a class of 74-gun ships of the French Navy, built to a common design by naval constructor Antoine Groignard. It comprised six ships, all ordered during 1781 and all named on 13 July 1781.Winfield & Roberts, French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786-1861, p.86.
The name-ship of the class - Pégase - was captured by the British Navy just two months after her completion; the other five ships were all at Toulon in August 1793 when that port was handed over by French Royalists to the occupying Anglo-Spanish forces, and they were seized by the British Navy. When French Republican forces forced the evacuation of the Allies in December, the Puissant was sailed to England (and - like the Pégase - was used as a harbour hulk there until the end of the Napoleonic Wars), and the Liberté (ex-Dictateur) and Suffisant were destroyed during the evacuation of the port; the remaining pair were recovered by the French Navy - see their respective individual histories below.
Ships PégaseRoche, p.344 Builder: Brest Dockyard Ordered: June 1781 Begun: June 1781 Launched: 5 October 1781 Completed: February 1782 Fate: Captured by HMS Foudroyant in the Bay of Biscay on 21 April 1782 (with 80 men of her crew killed); renamed HMS Pegase; hulked 1794 at Plymouth, until broken up in 1815.
Puissant Roche, p.368 Builder: Lorient Dockyard Ordered: 13 July 1781 Begun: August 1781 Launched: 13 March 1782 Completed: June 1782 Fate: Surrendered to the British by her Royalist crew during the siege of Toulon on 29 August 1793; removed to England at the evacuation of the city; became a hulk in Portsmouth 1796; broken up in 1816.
Dictateur Roche, p.150 Builder: Toulon Dockyard Ordered: 13 July 1781 Begun: July 1781 Launched: 16 February 1782 Completed: August 1782 Fate: Renamed Liberté on 29 September 1792. Burnt at the end of the siege of Toulon on 18 December 1793. Raised in 1805 and scrapped in 1808.
Suffisant Roche, p.424 Builder: Toulon Dockyard Ordered: 13 July 1781 Begun: July 1781 Launched: 6 March 1782 Completed: August 1782 Fate: Burnt at the end of the siege of Toulon 18 December 1793. Raised in 1805 and scrapped in 1806.
Alcide Roche, p.30-31 Builder: Rochefort Dockyard Ordered: 13 July 1781 Begun: July 1781 Launched: 25 May 1782 Completed: January 1783 Fate: Burnt during the Battle of the Hyères Islands on 18 July 1795 by her own heated shots, and exploded.
Censeur Roche, p.103 Builder: Rochefort Dockyard Ordered: 13 July 1781 Begun: August 1781 Launched: 24 July 1782 Completed: October 1783 Fate: Captured by the British at the Battle of Genoa 14 March 1795; retaken in the Battle of the Levant Convoy by de Richery's squadron off Cape St Vincent; sold at Cadiz to Spain in June 1799 in exchange for the Spanish San Sebastián.
Citations
References
Winfield, Rif and Roberts, Stephen S. (2017) French Warships in the Age of Sail 1626–1786: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates.. Seaforth Publishing, 2017. . Winfield, Rif and Roberts, Stephen S. (2015) French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786-1861: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. .