French ship La Couronne (1750)
 Fight of the Ça Ira off Noli on 14 March 1795 | |
| Career (France) |   |
|---|---|
| Name: | Ça-Ira |
| Builder: | Arsenal of Brest |
| Laid down: | May 1748 |
| Launched: | 1749 |
| Christened: | as La Couronne |
| Renamed: | Renamed Ça-Ira on 29 September 1792 |
| Reclassified: | rebuilt in 1784 in Toulon |
| Captured: | Captured by the Royal Navy on 14 March 1795 |
| Career (UK) |  |
| Fate: | Destroyed in an accidental fire |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 1400 tonnes |
| Length: | 54.2 metres |
| Beam: | 14.3 metres |
| Draught: | 7.1 metres |
| Complement: | 600 |
| Armament: |
80 guns:
|
The Couronne was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.
In 1792, she was renamed Ça Ira.
On 13 March 1795, under Captain Coudé, she was part of a French squadron of 13 ships, under contre-amiral Martin. Off Alassio the French met a 15-ship English fleet under Lord Hotham. Outnumbered, they tried to avoid combat, but while manoeuvering, Ça Ira collided with Victoire and damaged her rigging; she found herself upwind and was soon attacked by the English fleet, forcing the French squadron to engage in combat. Ça Ira was attacked by the frigate HMS Inconstant under Captain Thomas Fremantle and HMS Agamemnon under captain Horatio Nelson, repelling them but sustaining heavy damage. The French gunners proved particularly clumsy, failing to hit Agamemnon while she managed to outmaneuver and rake Ça Ira from the aft. The French frigate Vestale and the ship Censeur came to rescue, fighting the whole English vanguard.
The next day Ça Ira and Censeur were lagging behind the French squadron and the English advanced to capture them. Admiral Martin tried to intervene but failed due to unfavourable wind and incompetent gunners. Only the Duquesne intervened, and had to retreat after she sustained damage and casualties [1]. Ça Ira and Censeur tried to fight but due to a false maneuver Ça Ira collided with Censeur; her rigging fell on Censeur, stranding both ships. Men from Agamemnon boarded Ça Ira and captured her.
She was recommissioned in the Royal Navy. Nelson was offered her command but deemed her too badly damaged, and she was used as a hulk floating hospital in Saint-Florent.
On 11 April 1796 she was destroyed in an accidental fire. The wounded aboard were evacuated, and she was towed off the harbour to prevent fire from sparking to the rest of the ships of to the town. She sank 500 metres off the beach.
In 1988 a map signaling the wreck was discovered in the Bibliothèque Nationale, and undersea archeological survey has taken place since.
External links
- (French) [2]
- Ca-Ira, vaisseau français de 80 canons 1781-1796 by pierre Villié and martine Acerra Book review in INA Quarterly (Institut of Nautical Archaeology)
- (French) La bataille du cap Noli
