Most of Hawke's ships carried between fifty and sixty-six guns, with the seventy-gun Edinburgh an exception. The French escort included the eighty-gun flagship Tonnant, several seventy-fours, and the seventy-gun Neptune. Comparing fleet strength by ship count alone therefore obscures the size of individual opponents. The British captain list also includes George Rodney in the sixty-gun Eagle, placing a later senior admiral within Hawke's force. The convoy had an armed Indiaman and a frigate as well as its eight ships of the line.
Notable Point · 2:35:32-2:38:55
Fourteen British ships against eight powerful French escorts
Hawke had more ships, but the French escort included several vessels more heavily armed than most of his squadron.