Battle of Sadras The Battle of Sadras was the first of five largely indecisive naval battles fought between a British fleet under Admiral Sir Edward Hughes and French fleet under the Bailli de Suffren off the east coast of India during the American War of Independence . The battle , which was fought on 17 February 1782 near present - day Kalpakkam , was tactically indecisive , but the British fleet suffered the most damage , and the troop transports that Suffren was protecting were able to land their troops at Porto Novo . Background . France had entered the American Revolutionary War in 1778 , and Britain declared war on the Dutch Republic in late 1780 , when the Dutch refused to stop trading with the French and the Americans . The British had rapidly gained control over most French and Dutch outposts in India when news of these events reached India , spawning the Second Anglo - Mysore War in the process . The French admiral the Bailli de Suffren was dispatched on a mission to provide military assistance to French colonies in India , leading a fleet of five ships of the line , seven transports , and a corvette to escort the transports from Brest in March 1781 . After a happenstance battle with a British fleet at Porto Praya in the Cape Verde Islands in April , and a stop at the Dutch - controlled Cape of Good Hope in October , where he left troops to assist the Dutch in defense of that colony and added some ships to his fleet , he sailed on to Île de France , arriving at Port Louis in December . There the fleet , further enlarged by ships available there , sailed for India under the command of the elderly Admiral D ' Estienne D ' Orves , accompanying transports carrying nearly 3 , 000 men under the command of the Comte du Chemin . D ' Orves died in February 1782 , shortly before the fleet arrived off the Indian coast , and Suffren once again took command . Suffren first sailed for Madras , hoping to surprise the British stronghold there . When he found the fleet of Sir Edward Hughes anchored there on 15 February 1782 , he turned south with the intent of landing troops at Porto Novo , from where they could march up the coast , recapturing French and Dutch holdings on the way . Hughes raised anchor and sailed after Suffren . Battle . Suffren was hampered by the need to protect the troop convoys from Hughes , whose goal he presumed was to prevent the troops from landing . Detaching one corvette to protect the convoy and detailing another to watch the British fleet , he attempted to draw Hughes away . However , under cover of night Hughes managed to slip between Suffren ' s squadron and the convoys . The signal was raised on the morning of 17 February , and Suffren gave chase to force battle . When the fleets closed for action around 15 : 30 , some of Suffren ' s ships had not properly formed the line of battle , and only five of the French ships engaged at first , and of the remaining six , only two joined the action later , with the other four apparently violating Suffren ' s orders and hanging back . Suffren , leading in " Héros " , exchanged a broadside with " Exeter " before targeting Hughes ' flagship " Superb " . The battle lasted for over three hours , with " Exeter " taking the worst damage . She was very nearly sunk , but two French ships were recalled ( for reasons unknown ) before they could finish her off . " Superb " also suffered significant damage . The battle came to end with the onset of night . Aftermath . Suffren summoned his captains for council and chastised those that had chosen to stay out of the battle before following the troop convoy to Porto Novo . There the French army was landed , and Suffren met with Mysorean ruler Hyder Ali to plan strategy . After making repairs , Suffren set off to find Hughes again . The French and Mysorean forces captured Cuddalore , just north of Porto Novo , on 4 April . Hughes sailed for Trincomalee , where he made repairs . The rival fleets . Britain . , 74 , , 74 , , 70 , , 70 , , 64 , , 64 , , 64 , , 64 , and , 50 . France . " Héros " , 74 , " Annibal " , 74 , " Orient " , 74 , " Ajax " , 64 , " Artésien " , 64 , " Brillant " , 64 , " Sévère " , 64 , " Sphinx " , 64 , " Vengeur " , 64 , " Flamand " , 50 , and " Hannibal " , 50 , The ships involved were :