The action of 6 July 1746 was an inconclusive naval engagement between the British and French fleets during the War of the Austrian Succession.

Battle

The English fleet, first under the command of Commodore Curtis Barnett and then Edward Peyton, and a French fleet under Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais, engaged each other early in the First Carnatic War. Both fleets were damaged, with La Bourdonnais putting in at Pondicherry for repairs, and Peyton at Trincomalee. La Bourdonnais acquired additional guns at Pondicherry, and when the fleets met again in August 1746, Peyton refused battle and retreated to Bengal. La Bourdonnais then proceeded to lead the successful French attack on Madras in September.

Order of Battle

Royal Navy

ShipGunsCommanderRef.
Medway60Commodore Edward Peyton Captain Henry Rosewell
Preston50Captain Lord Northesk
Winchester50Captain Lord Thomas Bertie
Harwich50Captain Philip Carteret
Medway's Prize40Captain Thomas Griffin
Lively20Captain Nathaniel Stephens

France

ShipGunsRef.
Achille60
Duc d'Orléans26
Bourbon36
Neptune34
Phénix34
Saint Louis30
Lys34
Insulaire28

Citations

  • Clowes, William Laird (1898). The Royal Navy, a History from the Earliest Times to the Present. Vol.3. London: Sampson Low, Marston and Company.
  • Dodwell,

10°46′00″N 79°50′00″E/10.7667°N 79.8333°E/ 10.7667; 79.8333