While cruising Traveling in the Northern Bay of Biscay , the British Royal Navy frigate HMS `` Thames '' , under Captain James Cotes , encountered Hostile_encounter the much larger French frigate `` Uranie '' , under Captain Jean-François Tartu .

The action was the culmination of a campaign that had criss-crossed Motion_directional the Bay of Biscay over the previous month in which both sides had captured Conquering numerous merchant ships and minor warships and had engaged Participation in two partial , but inconclusive , fleet actions .

The Action of 10 November 1808 was a minor naval engagement Hostile_encounter of the Napoleonic Wars Hostile_encounter , in which a British frigate defeated Conquering and captured Conquering a French frigate in the Bay of Biscay .

The action formed Becoming part of the blockade Besieging of the French Biscay ports during the war Hostile_encounter by the British Royal Navy , a strategy designed Creating to prevent Preventing_or_letting ships from entering Arriving or leaving Departing French harbours , thus eliminating Removing foreign trade Exchange with France and damaging Damaging the French economy as well as cutting Removing France off from her overseas colonies .

`` Thétis '' had not even cleared Emptying the French coast when she was discovered Know by a patrolling British frigate of the inshore squadron , a unit tasked Confronting_problem with watching Scrutiny the entrance to the French Biscay ports , principally Brest , and intercepting Preventing_or_letting any ships seeking to enter Arriving or leave Departing the harbours .

On 1 June 1943 , the Douglas DC-3 serving the flight was attacked Attack by eight German Junkers Ju 88 fighter planes and crashed Catastrophe into the Bay of Biscay , killing Killing all 17 on board .

However , in 1942 the air war had begun Process_start to heat up over the Bay of Biscay , north of Spain and off the west coast of France ; the Douglas DC-3 lost Damaging in this attack Attack had survived attacks Attack by Luftwaffe fighters in November 1942 and April 1943 .

The Biscay Campaign resulted in Causation the loss Earnings_and_losses of the part of the Basque Country still held Defending by the Republic and Bilbao , the greatest Spanish industrial center .

The campaign Military_operation was the last significant operation in the Atlantic for the remainder of the war , and no French squadron of any size left any of the Biscay ports until 1808 .

With famine Catastrophe imminent , the French Committee of Public Safety looked Perception_active to France 's colonies and the United States to provide Supply an infusion of grain ; this was to be convoyed Patrolling across the Atlantic during April , May and June , accompanied by a small escort squadron and supported Supporting by a second , larger squadron in the Bay of Biscay .

`` Castor '' had previously been a British ship , seized Hold on 19 May by a French battle squadron in the Bay of Biscay and converted Change to French service while still at sea .