French ship Indomptable ( 1789 ) Indomptable ( " Indomitable " ) was an " Tonnant " - class 80 - gun ship of the line in the French Navy , laid down in 1788 and in active service from 1791 . Engaged against the Royal Navy after 1794 , she was damaged in the Battle of Trafalgar and wrecked near the Spanish city of Cadiz on 24 October 1805 . Early service . " Indomptable " was designed by naval engineer Jacques - Noël Sané and laid down in Brest in September 1788 . She was launched on 20 December 1790 , and completed in February 1791 . Her first engagement was on 29 May 1794 against and during the Glorious First of June campaign . Following the battle the dismasted " Indomptable " was towed back to Brest by " Brutus " . In 1795 , she served in the Mediterranean under Admiral François Joseph Bouvet and took part in the landing attempt in Ireland planned by General Louis Lazare Hoche . In 1801 , she was engaged in the campaign in Egypt , but was unable to break the English blockade and stayed in Toulon . Other elements of the fleet managed to reach Elba . " Indomptable " fought in the battle of Algeciras in 1801 when she was again badly damaged . In 1802 and 1803 , she served in Toulon under Admiral Latouche Tréville . Trafalgar campaign . On 17 January 1805 , she went to sea under Admiral Villeneuve , together with ten other ships of the line and eight frigates , and on 20 January the fleet sailed for the French Caribbean . Off Cadiz , the fleet was joined by the 74 - gun " Aigle " , and six Spanish ships of the line under Vice - Admiral Federico Gravina . When the fleet reached the West Indies , Villeneuve sent Commodore Cosmao - Kerjulien with the and the to attack the British position on Diamond Rock , which surrendered on 2 June . Villeneuve returned to Europe on hearing that Horatio Nelson had arrived in the West Indies . Cape Finisterre and Trafalgar . On 22 June 1805 , in the battle of Cape Finisterre the quartermasters of " Indomptable " spotted the British fleet under Sir Robert Calder . After a violent artillery exchange , the fleets became separated in the fog . Exhausted after six months at sea , the fleet anchored in Ferrol before sailing to Cádiz to rest and refit . With his command under question and planning to meet the British fleet to gain a decisive victory , Villeneuve left Cádiz and met the British fleet near Cape Trafalgar . " Indomptable " was in the Spanish line between " San Justo " and " Santa Ana " at the opening of the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805 . She engaged Rear - Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood ' s flagship off her lee beam as she approached , then raked William Hargood ' s as that ship passed " Indomptable " s stern . Later , she engaged , and , losing her place in the line but regrouping behind the Spanish flagship . Downwind of the British and effectively out of range , " Indomptable " turned towards the bay of Cadiz . At about two in the morning of 22 October , her crew heard distress calls from the French ship which had struck a reef off Santa Catalina fort . The ship ' s boat was run out and brought alongside " Bucentaure " , whose crew requested an anchor and hawsers to secure their vessel . This became impractical as " Bucentaure " settled deeper onto the rocks and began to sink : instead , " Indomptable " s boats began ferrying sailors off the vessel and back to their own . Rescue efforts continued until mid - afternoon on 23 October , by which time " Bucentaure " was completely submerged . Wreck . On the following night , a storm broke " Indomptable " s anchor chains and she was carried onto rocks offshore from Cadiz . Contemporary accounts estimate between 1 , 000 and 1 , 400 people were on board , including around 500 rescued from " Bucentaure " the previous night , and two men from who had been aboard " Bucentaure " as prize crew . Around 150 men survived the wreck , including just two of the twenty - four officers on board . Notes . The French Navy did not record precise crew numbers aboard " Indomptable " at the commencement of the Trafalgar engagement , nor was a tally made of the number of sailors rescued from " Bucentaure " : the figures of between 1 , 000 and 1 , 400 are taken from reports of contemporary observers . The estimate of 150 survivors was made by Captain Pernot , whose regiment provided " Indomptable " s marines .