French ship Redoutable ( 1791 ) The Redoutable was a " Téméraire " class 74 - gun ship of the line of the French Navy . She took part in the battles of the French Revolutionary Wars in the Brest squadron , served in the Caribbean in 1803 , and duelled with HMS " Victory " during the Battle of Trafalgar , killing Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson during the action . She sank in the storm that followed the battle . Built as " Suffren " , the ship was commissioned in the Brest squadron of the French fleet . After her crew took part in the Quibéron mutinies , she was renamed to " Redoutable " . She took part in the Croisière du Grand Hiver , the Battle of Groix , and the Expédition d ' Irlande . At the Peace of Amiens , " Redoutable " was sent to the Caribbean for the Saint - Domingue expedition , ferrying troops to Guadeloupe and Haiti . Later , she served in the fleet under Vice - admiral Villeneuve , and took part in the Trafalgar Campaign . At the Battle of Trafalgar , " Redoutable " rushed to cover the flagship " Bucentaure " when the ship following her failed to maintain the line . She tried in vain to stop Nelson ' s HMS " Victory " from breaking the line and raking " Bucentaure " , and then engaged her with furious cannon and small arms fire that silenced the British flagship and killed Nelson . As her crew prepared to board " Victory " , HMS " Temeraire " raked her with grapeshot , killing or maiming most of her crew . " Redoutable " continued to fight until she was in danger of sinking before striking her colours . She foundered in the storm of 22 October . Career . The ship was laid down at Brest in January 1790 , and launched as " Suffren " on 31 May 1791 . She was the first ship of the French Navy named in honour of Vice - admiral Suffren de Saint Tropez , who had died a hero of the American War of Independence on 8 December 1788 . She was completed there in December 1792 . Quibéron mutinies . " Suffren " was attached to the Brest fleet under Vice - admiral de Grimouard , later replaced by Morard de Galles . Under Captain Obet , she departed Brest in 1793 for a cruise to Quibéron . In September , the crews of the fleet revolted in the Quibéron mutinies , including the crew of " Suffren " . In retaliation , " Suffren " was renamed " Redoutable " on 20 May 1794 . The same day , she received the new naval flag of the Republic , the full tricolour which replaced the white flag with a tricolour canton , and hoisted her . Service in Brest . From March to June 1794 , " Redoutable " , under Captain Dorré , was the flagship of the naval station of Cancale . The division of Cancale was under Dorré , and was composed of " Redoutable " and her sister - ship " Nestor " , under Captain Monnier . In December , she took part in the Croisière du Grand Hiver under Captain Moncousu ; upon departure , she broke her cables , but unlike the ill - fated " Républicain " , she managed to reach the open sea , followed by the frigate " Vertu " . However , the damage sustained in the incident forced her to cancel her departure , and she returned to Brest . In February 1795 , " Redoutable " was the flagship of a division under Rear - admiral Kerguelen within the fleet of Brest , under Villaret - Joyeuse . Still under Captain Moncousu and with Commander Bourayne as first officer , she took part in the Battle of Groix on 23 June 1795 , where her poor sailing properties compelled the frigate " Virginie " , under Captain Bergeret , to take her in tow . During the battle , she was one of the few ships of observe Villaret ' s orders to support " Alexandre " . Later , along with " Tigre " , she attempted to support " Formidable " , but to no avail as " Formidable " s tops caught fire and she ceased all resistance to save herself , eventually striking her colours . After the battle , she sailed back to Port - Louis , near Lorient , In December 1796 , " Redoutable " took part in the Expédition d ' Irlande under Moncousu , by then promoted to Rear - admiral , and was the first French ship to reach Bantry Bay , after rallying elements of the French fleet . In the night of 22 to 23 December , she accidentally collided with Nielly ' s flagship , the frigate " Résolue " , dismasting her of her bowsprit , foremast , and mizzen ; only her mainmast stayed upright . the 74 - gun " Pégase " took " Résolue " in tow and returned with her to Brest , where they arrived on 30 December ; " Redoutable " eventually limped back to Brest , where she arrived on 5 January 1797 , in consort with " Fougueux " , " Trajan " , " Neptune " and " Tourville " , and four frigates . Service in the Caribbean . In March 1802 , the " Redoutable " was the flagship of a squadron of two ships of the line and four frigate s under Admiral Bouvet sent to reinforce Guadeloupe in 1802 and in the Saint - Domingue expedition in 1803 , departing on 9 January from Ajaccio with troops and arriving on 4 February . In 1803 , " Redoutable " , under Captain Siméon , was part of a naval division under Rear - admiral Bedout , based in Saint - Domingue . The division was composed of the 74 - gun " Argonaute " as flagship , with Captain Bourdé as Bedout ' s flag officer ; the 74 - guns " Redoutable " and " Aigle " , under Captain Gourrège ; the frigate " Vertu " , under Commander Montalan ; and the corvettes " Serpente " , under Commander Gallier - Labrosse , and " Éole " , under Lieutenant Descorches . Battle of Trafalgar . At the Battle of Trafalgar , on 21 October 1805 , " Redoutable " was commanded by Captain Lucas , with Lieutenant Dupotet as first officer . " Redoutable " was the third ship behing the flagship " Bucentaure " in the French line , coming behind Maistral ' s " Neptune " and Quevedo ' s " San Leandro " . When " Neptune " and " San Leandro " dropped behind " Bucentaure " , exposing her stern , " Redoutable " rushed to cover her and prevent Nelson ' s HMS " Victory " from cutting the Franco - Spanish line of battle . With her bowsprite almost touching " Bucentaure " stern , " Redoutable " fired on " Victory " s rigging for ten minutes , trying to disable her to prevent the crossing of the French line , but did not manage to stop her advance , despite cutting off her foremast tops , her mizeen and her main topgallant , and ended up running afoul of her . A furious , fifteen - minute musket duel erupted between the two ship ; the crew of " Redoutable " had been especially trained by Lucas for such an occasion , and soon the heavy hand - grenade and small - arm fire on " Victory " s quarterdeck mortally wounded Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson . Lucas later reported : The French crew were about to board the " Victory " when HMS " Temeraire " intervened , firing on the exposed French crew at point blank range , killing or wounding 200 men , including Lucas and Dupotet , struck by a bullet to the knee , who nevertheless remained at their stations . The crew of " Redoutable " rushed to man her artillery and engage " Temeraire " with her starboard battery , Soon , HMS " Tonnant " took a position at stern of " Redoutable " , which thus found herself fired upon from three larger ships . In the ensuing cannonade , " Redoutable " lost most of her artillery , including two guns that burst , killing several gunners . " Temeraire " hailed for " Redoutable " to surrender , but Lucas had volley of musketry fired for replies . At 1 . 55 pm , the " Redoutable " , with Lucas severely wounded , and only 99 men still fit out of 643 ( 300 dead and 222 severely wounded ) , was essentially defenceless . The " Fougueux " attempted to come to her aid but came afoul of HMS " Temeraire " . After ascertaining that " Redoutable " was too damaged to survive the aftermath of the battle , and worried that she would sink before his wounded could be evacuated , Lucas struck his colours at 2 : 30 . " Redoutable " s aft featured a large opening and was in danger of collapsing , her rudder was shot off , and the hull was pierced in many spots . Being much damaged and weakened by the fight themselves , the British ships took some time to take possession of " Redoutable " , and Lucas had to request urgent assistance to pump water , as four of " Redoutable " s pumps were destroyed and few of her crewmen could man them . " Redoutable " was freed from the riggings of " Téméraire " around 7 in the evening and was taken in tow by HMS " Swiftsure " . The next day , " Redoutable " made distress dignals , and " Swiftsure " launched boats to evacuated her passagers ; she foundered around 7 , taking 196 men with her . Lucas reported : The " Victory " had sustained 160 casualties , and the " Temeraire " , 120 . Of " Redoutable " crew , 169 were taken on HMS " Swiftsure " ; the wounded were sent to Cadiz on a cartel , and 35 men were taken prisoner to England . Lucas was received in England with great courtesy . After his release from capture , he was personally awarded the rank of Commandeur of the Legion of Honour by Napoleon for his role during the battle .