HMS Theseus is a 74-gun third-rate painted to resemble a first-rate at a distance. The Royal Navy sometimes used this visual deception to make an observing enemy overcount the fleet's largest ships. At the Nile, Theseus follows Goliath's route, crosses Guerrier's bow, and takes a shoreward station against Spartiate. The French ship has concentrated its available crew on the seaward battery and is unprepared to answer the attack from landward.
Notable Point · 1:13:51-1:15:21
Theseus disguises a 74 as a first-rate
A deceptive paint scheme makes HMS Theseus look like a first-rate before the 74-gun ship joins the attack inside the French line.