HMS Foudroyant ( 1758 ) The Foudroyant was a 80 - gun ship of the line of the French Navy . She was later captured and served in the Royal Navy as the Third Rate " Foudroyant " . French Navy and capture . " Foudroyant " was built at Toulon to a design by François Coulomb , and was launched on 18 December 1750 . She was present at the Battle of Minorca in 1756 , where she engaged the British flagship " Ramillies " . She then formed part of a squadron under Jean - François de La Clue - Sabran , during which time she was captured during the Battle of Cartagena off Cartagena , Spain on 28 February 1758 by , and . The " Monmouth " ' s Captain Gardiner was wounded early in the fight , and died , and his two lieutenants commanded the ship for most of the battle . The captain of the " Foudroyant " insisted upon handing his sword to the lieutenants , including Lt Hammick , who commanded the main gun - deck . After the battle the ship ' s crew composed a poem about the action which included the lines " Gallant Hammick aimed his guns with care , not one random shot he fired in the air " . Royal Navy . She was brought into Portsmouth and surveyed there in September 1758 for £163 . 10 . 2d . The Admiralty approved her purchase on 7 November that year , and she was duly bought on 6 December for the sum of £16 , 759 . 19 . 11d . She was officially named " Foudroyant " and entered onto the navy lists on 13 December 1758 . She underwent a refit at Portsmouth between February and August 1759 for the sum of £14 , 218 . 9 . 2d to fit her for navy service . She was commissioned in June 1759 under the command of Captain Richard Tyrell , serving as the flagship of Vice - Admiral Sir Charles Hardy between June and October 1759 . She spent August sailing with Admiral Edward Hawke ' s fleet . " Foudroyant " underwent another refit at Portsmouth in the spring of 1760 , commissioning later that year under Captain Robert Duff . She sailed to the Leeward Islands in April 1760 , but had returned to Britain by Autumn 1761 to undergo another refit . She took part in the operations off Martinique in early 1762 , before coming under the command of Captain Molyneaux Shuldham later that year . She served for a short period as the flagship of Admiral George Rodney , before being paid off in 1763 . She underwent several surveys , and a large repair between February 1772 and January 1774 , after which she was fitted to serve as the Plymouth guardship in April 1775 . She recommissioned again in August that year , under the command of Captain John Jervis , and was stationed at Plymouth until early 1777 . In March 1777 she was fitted for service in the English Channel , and spent that summer cruising off the French coast . On 18 June 1778 she engaged and captured the 32 - gun " Pallas " , and was then present with Admiral Augustus Keppel ' s fleet at the Battle of Ushant on 27 July 1778 . Jervis was briefly replaced as captain by Captain Charles Hudson , while the " Foudroyant " became the flagship of her old commander , now Vice - Admiral Lord Shuldham . Jervis resumed command in 1779 , sailing with Hardy ' s fleet , before being moved to a detached squadron in December 1779 . " Foudroyant " returned to port in early 1780 , where she was refitted and had her hull coppered . On the completion of this work by May , she returned to sea , sailing at first with Admiral Francis Geary ' s fleet , and later with George Darby ' s . She was then present at the relief of Gibraltar in April 1781 , after which she was moved to Robert Digby ' s squadron . By the summer of 1781 she had returned to sailing with Darby ' s fleet , and by April 1782 had moved to a squadron under Samuel Barrington . She captured the French 74 - gun " Pégase " on 21 April 1782 , for which actions Jervis was knighted . In addition to " Pegasse " , Jervis captured four transports : " Fidelité " ( 178 troops and stores ) , " Belonne " ( 147 troops and stores ) , " Lionne " ( 180 troops and stores ) , and " Duc de Chartres " ( stores and arms ) . She sailed again in July 1782 , this time as part of a fleet under Admiral Richard Howe , before spending the autumn cruising in the Western Approaches . She briefly came under the command of Captain William Cornwallis in 1783 , but was soon paid off and then fitted for ordinary . Fate . An Admiralty order of 24 August 1787 provided for " Foudroyant " to be broken up and she was sold off for £479 . 3 . 2d . The breaking up had been completed by 26 September 1787 .