| USS Bonhomme Richard (1765) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Career (US) |  |
| Name: | Bonhomme Richard |
| Builder: | Randall & Brent Shipyards |
| Launched: | 1766[1] |
| Acquired: | 4 February 1779 |
| In service: | 4 February 1779 |
| Out of service: | 25 September 1779[1] |
| Fate: | Sank in battle |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen: | 998 long ton (1014 tonnes)[1] |
| Length: | 152 ft (46 m)[1] |
| Beam: | 40 ft (12 m)[1] |
| Draft: | 19 ft (5.8 m)[1] |
| Propulsion: | Sail |
| Complement: | 380 officers and enlisted[1] |
| Armament: |
28 x 12-pound smoothbore 6 x 18-pound smoothbore 8 x 9-pound smoothbore[1] |
Bonhomme Richard, formerly Duc de Duras, was a warship in the Continental Navy. She was originally an East Indiaman, a merchant ship built in France for the French East India Company in 1765, for service between France and the Orient. She was placed at the disposal of John Paul Jones on 4 February 1779, by King Louis XVI of France as a result of a loan to the United States by French shipping magnate, Jacques-Donatien Le Ray.
Origin[]
Little is known about the early career of Bonhomme Richard other than she was originally an East Indiaman named Duc de Duras; a merchant ship built in France for the French East India Company in 1765. In that capacity she sailed between France and the Orient until purchased by King Louis XVI of France in early 1779 and placed under the command John Paul Jones on 4 February.[2] The size and armament of Duc de Duras made her a rough equivalent of half of a 64-gun ship of the line[3]
Jones renamed her Bon Homme Richard - usually rendered in more correct French as Bonhomme Richard, to honor Benjamin Franklin, the American Commissioner at Paris whose Poor Richard's Almanac was published in France under the title of Les Maximes du Bonhomme Richard.[1]
First patrols[]
On 19 June 1779, Bonhomme Richard sailed from Lorient accompanied by USS Alliance, Pallas, Vengeance, and Cerf with troop transports and merchant vessels under convoy to Bordeaux and to cruise against the British in the Bay of Biscay. Forced to return to port for repair, the squadron sailed again 14 August 1779. It went northwest around the west coast of the British Isles into the North Sea and then down the east coast. The squadron took 16 merchant vessels as prizes.
Battle of Flamborough Head[]
On 23 September 1779, they encountered the Baltic Fleet of 41 sail under convoy of HMS Serapis and HM hired armed vessel Countess of Scarborough near Flamborough Head. Bonhomme Richard and Serapis entered a bitter engagement at approximately 6:00 p.m. The battle ensued over the next four hours, costing the lives of nearly half the American and British crews. British victory seemed inevitable as the more heavily armed Serapis used its firepower to rake Bonhomme Richard with devastating effect. The Commanding Officer of Serapis then called on Jones to surrender, who replied, "Sir, I have not yet begun to fight!" Jones eventually succeeded in lashing the two ships together, nullifying his opponent's greater maneuverability and allowing Jones to take advantage of the larger size and considerably greater crew of Bonhomme Richard. An attempt by the Americans to board Serapis was repulsed, as was an attempt by the British to board Bonhomme Richard. Finally, after another of Jones's squadron joined in the fight, the British captain surrendered at about 10:30 p.m. Bonhomme Richard – shattered, on fire, leaking badly – defied all efforts to save her and sank about 36 hours later at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, 25 September 1779. Jones sailed the captured Serapis to the Dutch United Provinces for repairs.
Though Bonhomme Richard sank subsequent to the battle, the outcome of the battle convinced the French crown of the wisdom of backing the colonies in their fight to separate from British authority.
Search for the wreck[]
Bonhomme Richard's final resting location is the subject of much speculation. A number of unsuccessful efforts have been conducted to locate the wreck. The location of the wreck is presumed to be in approximately 180 feet (55 m) of water off Flamborough Head, Yorkshire, a headland near where her final battle took place. The number of other wrecks in the area and a century of fishing trawling operations have complicated all searches.
One season's attempts to locate and retrieve the ship, or some artifacts from her, using USNS Grasp were filmed for Discovery Channel's Mighty Ships series. The mission was not a success.
See also[]
References[]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 "Bonhomme Richard". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History & Heritage Command. http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/b8/bonhomme_richard-i.htm. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
- ↑ Hill (1905), pp. 23–24.
- ↑ LE BONHOMME-RICHARD, Échelle 1/48 par Pierre et Jacques Maillière, Commentaires G.D.
Sources
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
Bibliography
- Allen, Gardner Weld (1913). A Naval History of the American Revolution. II. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin. OCLC 2613121. http://books.google.com/books?id=uRERAAAAYAAJ.
- Beach, Edward L. (1986). The United States Navy 200 Years. New York: H. Holt. ISBN 978-0-03-044711-2. OCLC 12104038.
- Cooper, James Fenimore (1856). History of the Navy of the United States of America. New York: Stringer & Townsend. OCLC 197401914. http://books.google.com/books?id=WK3mWOlYYNsC.
- Hill, Frederic Stanhope (1905). Twenty-Six Historic Ships. New York and London: G.P. Putnam's Sons. OCLC 1667284. http://books.google.com/books?id=aAMKAAAAIAAJ.
- Maclay, Edgar Stanton; Smith, Roy Campbell (1898) [1893]. A History of the United States Navy, from 1775 to 1898. 1 (New ed.). New York: D. Appleton. OCLC 609036. http://books.google.com/books?id=3tVCAAAAIAAJ.
- "Navy Searches for John Paul Jones' Ship". Navy News Service. 11 September 2010. http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=55874. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
- Ryan, Melisa (Fall/Winter 2006). "Recapturing the Unsinkable Spirit of the Bonhomme Richard" (PDF). Groton: Connecticut Sea Grant. ISSN 2151-2825. OCLC 48206014. http://web2.uconn.edu/seagrant/publications/magazines/wracklines/fallwinter06/bonhomme.pdf.
- Smith, Roff (August 2008). "The Ghost Ship of Filey Bay". Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society. ISSN 0027-9358. OCLC 6451257. http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/2008/08/filey-bay/john-paul-jones-shipwreck-text/1.
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to USS Bonhomme Richard (1765). |
- Detailed Plank on Frame wooden model of the Bonhomme Richard
- Search for the Bonhomme Richard Clive Cussler recounts his elusive search for the Bonhomme Richard.
The original article can be found at USS Bonhomme Richard (1765) and the edit history here.