HMS Centaur (1759)

The view from Lady Juliana on the morning after the hurricane, featuring Centaur along with HMS Glorieux and HMS Ville de Paris
History
France
Name	Centaure
Ordered	1755
Builder	Joseph-Marie-Blaise Coulomb, Toulon Dockyard
Laid down	February 1756
Launched	17 March 1757
Commissioned	October 1757
Captured	18 August 1759, by Royal Navy
General characteristics In French service[1]
Class and type	74-gun second-rank ship of the line
Tons burthen	1450
Length	164 French feet[2]
Beam	43 French feet
Draught	19 French feet 11 inches
Depth of hold	20½ French feet
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	620 men, +6/10 officers
Armament	74 guns of various weights of shot
Great Britain
Name	HMS Centaur
Acquired	18 August 1759
Fate	Wrecked, 24 September 1782
General characteristics In British service[3]
Class and type	74-gun third-rate ship of the line
Tons burthen	1739
Length	175 ft 8 in (53.54 m) (gundeck)
Beam	47 ft 5 in (14.45 m)
Depth of hold	20 ft (6.1 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Armament	74 guns of various weights of shot

Centaure was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, launched at Toulon in 1757. She was designed by Joseph-Marie-Blaise Coulomb and named on 25 October 1755, and built under his supervision at Toulon. In French service she carried 74 cannon, comprising: 28 × 36-pounders on the lower deck, 30 × 18-pounders on the upper deck, 10 × 8-pounders on the quarterdeck, 6 × 8-pounders on the forecastle.

The Royal Navy captured Centaure at the Battle of Lagos^[4] on 18 August 1759, and commissioned her as the third-rate HMS Centaur.^[3]