History
France
Name	Hardi
Builder	Rochefort [1]
Laid down	1748 [1]
Launched	1750 [1]
In service	April 1751 [1]
Out of service	1798
Fate	Hulked 1786
General characteristics
Class and type	Hardi class ship of the line
Tons burthen	1100 tons
Length	48.4 metres [1]
Beam	13.2 metres [1]
Draught	6.6 metres [1]
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Armament	64 guns

Hardi was a 64-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.

Career

Built from 1748, Hardi was activated during the Seven Years' War, departing Rochefort in March 1757 with Jacinthe, bound for Martinique where she arrived on 13 May 1757. Incorporated into Admiral du Chaffault's squadron, she took part in the Siege of Louisbourg and in the action of 27 October 1758 off Ushant.^[1]

In 1778, Hardi was reactivated for the American Revolutionary War; she departed Toulon on 16 July, under Le Roy de La Grange, to rejoin the squadron under Louis de Fabry. On 20 June 1780, she departed Toulon to join with the squadron under Rear-Admiral de Beausset and take part in the Great Siege of Gibraltar. The next year, on 24 April 1781, she departed Brest with the squadron under La Motte-Picquet and took part in the action of 2 May 1782, in which the French captured 18 British merchantmen bound for St. Eustatius, worth around 5 million pounds.^[1]

In early 1782, Hardi transferred to the Indian Ocean to reinforce Suffren's squadron in the Indian Ocean. There, she took part in the Cuddalore on 20 June 1783.^{[1] [2]}

From 1786, Hardi was hulked in Toulon and used as a prison ship.^[1]

Citations

References

• Cunat, Charles (1852). Histoire du Bailli de Suffren. Rennes: A. Marteville et Lefas. p. 447.
• Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours 1 1671 - 1870. p. 236. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.