second battle of cape finisterre (1747)

The second battle of Cape Finisterre was a naval battle of the War of the Austrian Succession, fought on 25 October 1747 between fleets of France and Great Britain in the Bay of Biscay off Cape Finisterre in northwest Spain. The battle was a decisive British victory, and put an end to French naval operations for the remainder of the war. The battle was a convoy action, similar to the first battle of Cape Finisterre on 14 May 1747. On 25 October 1747 (in the Gregorian calendar, corresponding to 14 October 1747 in the Julian calendar then in use in Britain) a French convoy, protected by a squadron of eight French ships of the line commanded by Admiral Desherbiers de l'Etendure, was intercepted in the Bay of Biscay by a well-appointed British squadron of fourteen ships of the line commanded by Admiral Sir Edward Hawke. The French made a very gallant resistance, and the fine quality of their ships enabled them to counteract to some extent the superior numbers of the British. While the warships were engaged, the French merchant vessels, with the small protection which Desherbiers could spare them, continued on their way to the West Indies. Most of them were, however, intercepted and captured in those waters. This disaster convinced the French government of its helplessness at sea, and it made no further effort.

Second Battle Of Cape Finisterre (1747)

See also