French ship Bien-Aimé (1769)

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Bien-Aimé.

Bien-Aimé was a 74-gun warship of the French Navy.

Watercolour portrait of Bien-Aimé, by François Roux, commissioned by Willaumez
History
France
Name	Bien-Aimé
Ordered	1769 or March 1770
Builder	Lorient
Laid down	March 1768
Launched	22 March 1769
In service	November 1769
Fate	Broken up 1785
General characteristics
Class & type	Bien-Aimé class ship of the line
Displacement	2884 tonneaux
Tons burthen	1500 port tonneaux
Length	55.2 metres
Beam	14.1 metres
Draught	6.9 metres
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Armament	74 guns:

Construction

Bien-Aimé was originally built for the French East India Company, but the French Navy acquired her before she was completed.

Career

In 1777, Bien-Aimé was commanded by Captain de Bougainville. The next year, at the outbreak of the War of American Independence, she was part of the squadron under Admiral Lamotte-Picquet, and took part in the action of 2 May 1781.

On 24 April 178, Bien-Aimé departed Brest, under François Pierre Huon de Kermadec, in the squadron of Admiral Lamotte-Picquet, along with the 110-gun Invincible, the 74-gun Actif, and the 64-gun ships Alexandre, Hardi and Lion, and the frigates Sibylle and Néréide, and cutters Chasseur and Levrette.

Fate

Bien-Aimé was struck from the Navy lists in 1784, and broken up the year after.

References

• Lacour-Gayet, Georges (1910). La marine militaire de la France sous le règne de Louis XVI. Paris: Honoré Champion.
• Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. Vol. 1. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. p. 74. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.