View source for En flûte

{{Short description|Reducing a ship's armament to carry more cargo}}
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[[File:Capture des flutes Alcide et Lys en 1755 pres de Louisbourg.jpg|thumb|Capture of the [[French ship Alcide (1743)|''Alcide'']] and the [[French ship Lys (1747)|''Lys'']], in the [[action of 8 June 1755]]; the 64-gun ''Lys'' was armed ''en flûte'', her armament reduced to 22 guns.]]
'''''En flûte''''' (French: "as a [[fluyt]]") is a French naval expression of the [[Age of Sail]] to designate the use of a warship as a transport with reduced armament.<ref name=willaumez51>Willaumez, p. 294</ref>
Some warships, [[ship of the line|ships of the line]] or [[frigate]]s, were occasionally used with limited artillery, by reducing the number and calibre of their guns.<ref name=willaumez51 /> Since ships have a limited amount of cargo space, they may be armed ''en flûte'' to make room for other cargo, such as troops and ammunition, reducing the ship's ability to defend herself if attacked.
The term emerged from the French name for a type of ship – the cargo-carrying ''flûte'' used extensively as a mercantile ship or as a naval [[auxiliary vessel]]. In turn this derived from the Dutch name ''[[fluyt]]'', probably the most common type of cargo-carrier during the seventeenth century – when in English usage it was commonly rendered as a [[flyboat]].
This tactic was most relevant in the Age of Sail, when [[gun deck]]s took up most of the space on a warship above the [[waterline]]. Reducing [[Naval artillery in the Age of Sail|the artillery]] of a ship of the line or a frigate entailed a dramatic saving in space, since the removal of certain guns meant that their gunners (and their equipment and provisions) were not needed.<ref name=willaumez51 /> The size of the crew of a sailing warship was determined primarily by the number of guns on the ship, sometimes over 100, as each gun needed a crew of several men, and it might be necessary to have all the guns in action simultaneously. The number of men required to fight on board the ship was far higher than the number needed simply to sail it. A typical ship of the line armed ''en flûte'' would have her armament cut down to a quarter of her maximum, and could accommodate over 1,000 troops.
For instance, leading up to the [[Seven Years' War]], [[France|the French]] sent 3,000 troops to reinforce [[Canada (New France)|French Canada]] aboard a large squadron of ships-of-war. To make room for these troops, most of the ships were armed ''en flûte''.<ref>[[Alfred Thayer Mahan|Mahan, A.T.]], ''The Influence of Sea Power upon History 1660-1783'' {{ISBN|0-486-25509-3}}</ref>
As an opposite, a ship fitted with her entire complement of sailors, guns and ammunition was said to be armed "''en guerre''" (French: "readied for war").
== See also ==
* [[en aventurier]]
== Notes and references  ==
=== References ===
{{Reflist}}
=== Sources ===
* {{cite book|title=Dictionnaire de marine|first=Jean-Baptiste-Philibert|last=Willaumez|authorlink=Jean-Baptiste Philibert Willaumez|publisher=Bachelier|year=1825|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=at4RJU2DUTwC|language=French|page=294}}
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[[Category:Naval warfare tactics]]
[[Category:Tactical formations]]
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