Le Requin in her historical context

The history of Le Requin is well known to us by various documents of the era, which reveal a 27-month long period of time between her launching and her first mission. This surprising duration is due to two essential factors. First of all, the first coniferous trees used for the masts (“trees” in the language of a chebec) and the yards turned out to be defective during her first tests at sea. The main mast showed twisted veins and spots of rot, whereas the foremast was split from the foot to the partners and it was necessary to consider the rupture of the foreyard, so it was decided to send for better quality trees from the North. On the other hand, the contractors who manufactured the sail clothes, refused to work up because of the tripling of the cotton sailcloth price due to an international crisis.

After suffering all these vexations, the first commander of Le Requin, the Knight of Fabry (Monsieur le Chevalier de Fabry) notes with delight that the speed capabilities of the ship were remarkable. The crew of Le Requin was comprised of 212 to 223 people in times of peace, whereas in times of war it could reach 228 people: 8 major officers, 36 pelty officers and non officers, 109 sailors, 50 soldiers, 25 cabin-boys, 7 servants and a guardian of the flag: what a promiscuity!

From 1754 to 1759, Le Requin was a part of Chebecs who performed missions of police force, messenger and coastguard along the coast of Provence. Under the command of privateers, she confronts in 1761 a British snow and in 1762 manages to capture 2 ships and a brig. Following this valiant behavior, she is back in the royal navy under the command of Lieutenant Du Bourguet and starts a seven month campaign in the East seas; the Lieutenant benefits from this to express his satisfaction for not having neither sick nor loss of men and to denounce the bad quality of the charts in his reports to the Duke of Choiseul (Monsieur le Duc de Choiseul). It is also during this time that the ship loses most of her sailing qualities, as gets converted to a square-rigger.

In return from her campaign, Le Requin had completed her forty years of service and her laying up begins on November 12, 1762, following which she is commissioned twice from July 13 to August 17, 1763 and for the last time in 1764.

In 1770, Le Requin is ultimately stricken off the official lists.