L’Invincible; 1758

His Majesty’s Ship Invincible began life as the French warship L’Invincible and was launched at Rochefort, France, in 1744. With two decks, 74 guns, and a crew of 700 this was one of the elite fighting ships of the day. Such firepower could outmatch all but the largest three deck warships and was coupled with the speed and agility of much smaller vessels, making L’Invincible a far superior design. The 74 gun ship became the backbone of the Fleet for over half a century and 16 such vessels were present at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

In 1747 L’Invincible, under the command of Captain Saint-Georges, was escorting a French convoy to India. On the 14 May, when the 30 ship convoy was off Cape Finisterre in northwest Spain, it was intercepted by a British squadron of 14 warships led by Admiral Anson. L’Invincible, though hopelessly outnumbered, fought valiantly to give the convoy time to escape. L’Invincible was the last ship to strike its colours at the Battle of Cape Finisterre. Of the 14 French warships, only two escaped. The rest were captured and put into service in the Royal Navy, or sunk.

L’Invincible was taken as a war prize and recommissioned as Invincible (without ‘HMS’, which was not an official abbreviation until several decades later). During her service with the Royal Navy she was the flagship of three Admirals, took part in two wars against the French and served as far away as the West Indies and Nova Scotia. Despite seeing little combat, the ship’s powerful attributes meant that its fourteen year sailing career included a variety of roles from flagship to fast troop transport.

(Source: Maritime Archaeology Trust, Images—invincible1758.co.uk)