Page 22 - History of War - Issue 18-15
P. 22
HEAD HEAD
Frontline
TO
AttheBattleoftheNilein1798,theRoyalNavy’sHMSBellerophon
exchanged broadsides with the massive French flagship L’Orient
L’ORIENT YEARS IN OPERATION: 7 LOYALTY: FRANCE
WEIGHTANDDIMENSIONS CREW TACTICS
2 2 2
At5,095tonsinweight,213feet(65metres) L’Orient carried 1,079 crewmen, far The French commander François-Paul Brueys
in length, and 53 feet (16.24 metres) in outnumbering the Bellerophon. However, many of d’Aigalliers positioned his fl eet defensively, with its
breadth,L’Orientwasthreetimesheavierthan the experienced offi cers in the French Navy had back to Aboukir Bay. Under the cover of darkness,
Bellerophon and 50 per cent longer and wider. been executed during the revolution, taking with Nelson split his fl eet into two divisions and slipped
them their skills at sea and command acumen. one between the French line and the shore.
Left: Admiral François-
Paul Brueys d’Aigalliers, FIREPOWER GUNNERY
commander of the
French fl eet 2 2
A triple-decker, L’Orient’s 120 cannons outgunned L’Orient’s cannons devastated Bellerophon’s
Below: The each British ship at the Battle of the Nile. The 32 masts and upper decks within minutes, but
Destruction Of
L’Orient, by cannons on the lowest of its three gun decks fi red Bellerophon started uncontrollable fi res on
Mather Brown massive 36-pound shots. L’Orient’s upper deck.
TOTAL
2 2
THEMIGHTYL’ORIENT,
ASHIPOFMANYNAMES
ANDFEWBATTLES
Laid down at Toulon in 1791 with the princely
nameofDauphinRoyalandlaunchedin1792
under the revolutionary name Sans-Culotte,
L’Orientgaineditsfinalnamein1795after
anothertwistofFrenchpolitics.Laterthatyear,
Rear-AdmiralPierreMartin,aCanadian-born
veteran of the American War of Independence,
choseL’OrientashisflagshipattheBattleof
Genoa, against a larger British-Neapolitan fleet
under Vice-Admiral William Hotham. Late in the
afternoon, L’Orient engaged the British as they
attacked the French rear, but that night L’Orient
got lost, and played no further part in the French
defeat. In 1798, L’Orient was the flagship of
Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt.
22
