Naval engagement fought in the main harbour of the Cycladic island of Mykonos on 17 June 1794 during the French Revolutionary Wars.
A Royal Navy 50-gun ship captured the French frigate Sibylle in a close-range harbour duel during the French Revolutionary Wars, removing a French raider from the Aegean.
Key Facts
- Date
- 17 June 1794
- Duration of broadsides
- 1 hour 10 minutes
- HMS Romney guns
- 50 guns
- French Sibylle guns
- 40 guns
- British commander
- Captain William Paget
- French commander
- Commodore Jacques-Mélanie Rondeau
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
A Royal Navy squadron escorting eight merchant ships westward through the Aegean encountered the French frigate Sibylle anchored in Mykonos harbour alongside three French merchant vessels. Captain Paget diverted HMS Romney to demand the French ship's surrender, while the convoy continued under the rest of the squadron.
French Commodore Rondeau refused to surrender, prompting Paget to manoeuvre Romney to avoid firing on the town before bringing both ships alongside each other. The two vessels exchanged broadsides at close range for over an hour, inflicting heavy casualties on both sides before the smaller Sibylle was overcome and Rondeau surrendered.
The captured Sibylle was commissioned into the Royal Navy, later achieving distinction at the Battle of Île de la Passe-area waters when she fought the French frigate Forte in the Indian Ocean in 1799. The action removed a French naval presence from the Aegean and added a capable frigate to British forces.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Captain William Paget.
Side B
1 belligerent
Commodore Jacques-Mélanie Rondeau.