HMS Centaur (1759)
The view from Lady Juliana on the morning after the hurricane, featuring Centaur along with HMS Glorieux and HMS Ville de Paris | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| France | |
| Name | Centaure |
| Ordered | 1755 |
| Builder | Joseph-Marie-Blaise Coulomb, Toulon Dockyard |
| Laid down | February 1756 |
| Launched | 17 March 1757 |
| Commissioned | October 1757 |
| Captured | 18 August 1759, by Royal Navy |
| General characteristics In French service | |
| Class & type | 74-gun second-rank ship of the line |
| Tons burthen | 1450 |
| Length | 164 French feet |
| Beam | 43 French feet |
| Draught | 19 French feet 11 inches |
| Depth of hold | 20½ French feet |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Complement | 620 men, +6/10 officers |
| Armament | 74 guns of various weights of shot |
| Great Britain | |
| Name | HMS Centaur |
| Acquired | 18 August 1759 |
| Fate | Wrecked, 24 September 1782 |
| General characteristics In British service | |
| Class & type | 74-gun third-rate ship of the line |
| Tons burthen | 1739 |
| Length | 175 ft 8 in (53.54 m) (gundeck) |
| Beam | 47 ft 5 in (14.45 m) |
| Depth of hold | 20 ft (6.1 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Armament | 74 guns of various weights of shot |
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Centaure was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, launched at Toulon in 1757. She was designed by Joseph-Marie-Blaise Coulomb and named on 25 October 1755, and built under his supervision at Toulon. In French service she carried 74 cannon, comprising: 28 × 36-pounders on the lower deck, 30 × 18-pounders on the upper deck, 10 × 8-pounders on the quarterdeck, 6 × 8-pounders on the forecastle.
The Royal Navy captured Centaure at the Battle of Lagos on 18 August 1759, and commissioned her as the third-rate HMS Centaur.