The Robuste was an 80-gun Bucentaure-class

Bucentaure class ship of the line

The Bucentaure class was a class of 80-gun French ships of the line built to a design by Jacques-Noël Sané from 1802 onwards, of which at least 29 were ordered but only 21 ships were launched...

 80-gun ship of the line

Ship of the line

A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...

 of the French Navy

French Navy

The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...

, designed by Jacques-Noël Sané

Jacques-Noël Sané

Jacques-Noël Sané was a French naval engineer, one of the most successful shipbuilders of the Age of Sail.Sané studied under Duhamel du Monceau...

.

She was commissioned under Captain Louis-Antoine-Cyprien Infernet

Louis-Antoine-Cyprien Infernet

Louis-Antoine-Cyprien Infernet was a French Navy officer, famous for his behaviour at the Battle of Trafalgar.Infernet was born in Nice, a relative of André Masséna....

, and was later captained by Julien Cosmao

Julien Cosmao

Julien Marie Cosmao-Kerjulien was a French Navy officer, admiral, and hero of the Battle of Trafalgar.- Early career :...

.

From April 1809, she was the flagship

Flagship

A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...

 of a squadron.

In late 1809, Vice-Admiral Honoré Joseph Antoine Ganteaume

Honoré Joseph Antoine Ganteaume

Count Honoré Joseph Antoine Ganteaume was a French admiral.Ganteaume was born to a family of merchant sailors, and sailed on a dozen commercial cruises in his youth...

 was organising shipment of reinforcements to Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

. Robuste became the flagship of a squadron under Julien Cosmao, along with Donawerth

French ship Donawerth (1808)

The Donawerth was an 80-gun Bucentaure-class 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, designed by Sané.In late 1809, Ganteaume was organising reinforcements to Barcelona. Cosmao set his flag on and took command of a squadron comprising , , and , as well as the frigates and , and a dozen of...

, Génois, Borée and Lion, as well as the frigates Pauline

French frigate Pauline (1807)

The Pauline was a 44-gun Hortense class frigate of the French Navy.On 27 February 1809, along with Dubourdieu's Pénélope, she captured the 32-gun HMS Proserpine ....

 and Pénélope, and a dozen of transports. The fleet departed Toulon

Toulon

Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....

 on 24 April 1809, and returned on 1 May without incident.

In October, the squadron attempted another ferry, under Rear-Admiral François Baudin. On 21 October the French were detected by HMS Pomone, which reported to Lord Collingwood

Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood

Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood was an admiral of the Royal Navy, notable as a partner with Lord Nelson in several of the British victories of the Napoleonic Wars, and frequently as Nelson's successor in commands.-Early years:Collingwood was born in Newcastle upon Tyne...

's squadron. Collingwood sent his three frigates as a vanguard and sailed with 15 ships of the line to intercept the French. On the morning of 23 October HMS Volontaire

French frigate Volontaire (1796)

The Volontaire was a 44-gun Virginie class frigate of the French Navy.She took part in the Atlantic campaign of 1806, and was captured by HMS Diadem in March 1806. She was brought into Royal Navy service as HMS Volontaire....

 detected and reported the French squadron's position.

The British gave chase, but lost contact. HMS Tigre

French ship Tigre (1793)

Tigre was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.Her first captain was Pierre Jean Van Stabel. When Van Stabel was promoted, she became the flagship of his 6-ship squadron. She notably fought in 1793 to rescue the Sémillante, along with the Jean Bart.Under Jacques Bedout, she took part in...

 detected Robuste, Borée, Lion and Pauline at dawn on 24 October, but the fleets lost contact again. Contact was re-established in the morning of 25 October, the French sailing close to the shore, and the chase resumed. Robuste and Lion ran aground around noon near Frontignan

Frontignan

Frontignan la Peyrade is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France.Frontignan is renowned for its AOC wine, the Muscat de Frontignan, a sweet wine made solely from the Muscat grape variety.-Sights:...

. After two hours of fruitless attempts to save the ships, Baudin ordered them scuttled, and they were set on fire in the evening. They exploded at 10h30.