Jean Bart's squadron centered on the 54-gun Maure and included several smaller fourth- and fifth-rate warships. A fireship, longboats, and small privateers gave the French force tools for raiding and capture as well as ship-to-ship combat. The Dutch protected 112 merchant vessels with five escorts, two of which may have been armed merchantmen rather than regular warships. The gun counts make Dogger Bank a frigate-scale convoy action rather than a clash between the largest ships of the line.
Chapter · 8:40-10:48
A French frigate force finds a lightly protected Dutch convoy
The opposing orders of battle reveal a French squadron of fourth- and fifth-rate warships facing five Dutch escorts and 112 merchant ships.