Battle of Flamborough Head 1779

[john sefton]

FLAMBOROUGH HEAD 1779. On the night of September 23, 1779, a squadron of five ships consisting of BON HOMME RICHARD (46), ALLIANCE (32), PALLAS (30, merchantman), VEANGEANCE (12) and CERF(18) cutter commanded by John P Jones encountered, in the North Sea off Flamborough, England, a fleet of 40 British merchantmen convoyed by two powerful men-of-war, the SERAPIS and the COUNTESS OF SCARBOROUGH. The PALLAS took on the COUNTESS OF SCARBOROUGH while the SERAPH IS was attacked by the BONHOMME RICHARD. The COUNTESS OF SCARBOROUGH was captured and after one of the bloodiest battles in naval history, during which Jones had the BONHOMME RICHARD lashed to the SERAPIS so that the British man-of-war could not fully utilize its far greater firing power, the commander of the SERAPIS surrendered. The BONHOMME RICHARD, unseaworthy from the outset, was so badly damaged in the battle that two days later the ship sank. The SERAPHIS under Jones reached Texel and, finally, Lorient. The victory, however, gave the newly formed United States of America considerable prestige. - Ecuador 1976 5s SG1658 USA 1936 1c SG786

[Anatol]

For more details about battle of Flamborough Head 1779 see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of ... rough_Head.
The design stamp of Ecuador is made after painting of Robert Dodd.
Ecuador 1976 5s SG1658. USA 1936 1c SG786. USA 1977;FDC.