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The Action of 4 September 1782 was a small naval engagement which was fought off the Île de Batz between a French naval frigate ''Hébé'' and a Royal Naval frigate HMS ''Rainbow''. This battle was notable as the first proper use of a carronade and so effective was this weapon that the French commander promptly surrendered just after the first broadside.〔Rodger (2004), p. 420〕 ==Action== On 4 September the 44 gun ship HMS ''Rainbow'' under Captain Henry Trollope armed entirely with carronades was off the French coast near the Île de Batz when a frigate was sighted. Having then chased the vessel it turned to be a French frigate ''Hebe''. ''Hebe'' of 1,063 tons was a new ship of the class of the same name which consisted of 38 guns, twenty six of which were 18-pounder long guns commanded by the Chevalier de Vigny (father of Alfred de Vigny) and had on board 360 men. ''Hebe'' had left Saint-Malo on 3 September and was heading to Brest escorting a small convoy. At 7 am, having arrived within gunshot of the French ship, the ''Rainbow'' commenced firing 32-pounder chase guns from the forecastle which were returned by the frigate. An hour and a half later the ships manoeuvred for position and Captain Trollope then having got alongside engaged ''Hebe'' firing a single broadside. The effect was devastating; ''Hebes wheel was shot away and one sixty eight pound shot had shot away her foremast as well as killing and wounding a number of the crew.〔 De Vigny examined the fragments of the hollow carronade shot and concluded that if she was firing 32-pounders as chase pieces she was actually a ship of the line in disguise. He fired one broadside, "pour l'honneur du pavillon,” (the honour of the flag) and struck his colours.〔 The surrender of ''Hébé'' after slight resistance was not surprising given the unusual armament of the ''Rainbow'' is taken into consideration.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://ageofsail.wordpress.com/2009/02/22/introducing-the-carronade-all-carronades-all-the-time/ )〕 Rainbow lost only one man killed and two slightly wounded. The French lost five killed, including the second captain, and several wounded out of a crew of 360 men.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Action of 4 September 1782」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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