The French 80-gun Tonnant was already 36 years old at Grenada. Her career had included the Second Battle of Cape Finisterre and Quiberon Bay before she appeared in the victorious French line in 1779. She left service the following year after surviving both earlier defeats and this late success. Her career gives a concrete measure of wooden capital-ship longevity and warns against assuming rapid technological obsolescence in the age of sail.
Notable Point · 1:09:55-1:11:13
Tonnant shows the long service life of a wooden warship
The 1743-built Tonnant fought at Grenada 36 years later, demonstrating how long a major wooden warship could remain operationally relevant.