What was the name of John Paul Jones's famous ship?

John Paul Jones’s famous ship was the Bonhomme Richard. The vessel began life as the French East Indiaman Duc de Duras, built at Lorient in 1765. In 1779, King Louis XVI placed it at Jones’s disposal as part of French assistance to the American cause. Jones renamed it Bonhomme Richard, the French rendering of “Poor Richard,” in honor of Benjamin Franklin and his Poor Richard’s Almanack.

The ship became famous during the Battle of Flamborough Head on September 23, 1779. Jones commanded a small squadron that encountered a British convoy. The Bonhomme Richard fought HMS Serapis in a brutal engagement lasting roughly four hours. Although the American ship was badly damaged and taking on water, Jones lashed the vessels together so the British ship’s superior maneuverability and firepower were less effective.

When asked to surrender, Jones reportedly replied, “I have not yet begun to fight!” The British eventually surrendered, but the Bonhomme Richard was too badly damaged to save and sank on September 25. Jones continued the campaign aboard the captured Serapis.