Shortly after 20:00, the trailing Swiftsure and Alexander, joined by Leander, attacked the French centre, causing severe damage to Franklin and killing Admiral Brueys on his quarterdeck with a cannon shot.
At 21:00, a fire broke out in Orient's stern, the blaze spread further by volleys from Swiftsure that also defeated efforts to extinguish it.
The flames spread rapidly, racing up the masts and across the decks until the entire flagship was a blazing wreck.
At 22:00, the vast magazines detonated, tearing the ship apart and hurling burning wreckage onto the neighbouring vessels.
For ten minutes not a shot was fired, as the nearest ships battled to extinguish fires and the further ones paused in shock.
The first ship to recommence hostilities was Franklin, but Admiral Blanquet's heavily outnumbered flagship was forced to surrender by 24:00.
Tonnant, the only French ship still engaged, fought on against Majestic until 03:00, when the mortally wounded Captain Aristide Aubert Du Petit Thouars succeeded in dragging his ship to the temporary safety of the rear division under Rear-Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve.

At 04:00 on 2 August, firing began again between Villeneuve's ships and a scratch British squadron formed from the less damaged ships.
 By 11:00, Villeneuve had conducted a successful fighting withdrawal to the mouth of the bay, and was able to escape to open water.
However, Villeneuve had been forced to abandon the battered Tonnant and the grounded Timoléon, retaining just two ships of the line and two frigates.
While Villeneuve escaped, British ships received the surrender of Heureux and Mercure, which had grounded shortly after the explosion of Orient, and forced the captain of the frigate Artémise to scuttle his vessel.
On 3 August, Theseus and Leander were sent to complete the destruction of the French fleet; Tonnant surrendered and Timoléon was set on fire by its crew and destroyed.
Shortly after 20:00, the trailing Swiftsure and Alexander, joined by Leander, attacked the French centre, causing severe damage to Franklin and killing Admiral Brueys on his quarterdeck with a cannon shot. At 21:00, a fire broke out in Orient's stern, the blaze spread further by volleys from Swiftsure that also defeated efforts to extinguish it. The flames spread rapidly, racing up the masts and across the decks until the entire flagship was a blazing wreck. At 22:00, the vast magazines detonated, tearing the ship apart and hurling burning wreckage onto the neighbouring vessels. For ten minutes not a shot was fired, as the nearest ships battled to extinguish fires and the further ones paused in shock. The first ship to recommence hostilities was Franklin, but Admiral Blanquet's heavily outnumbered flagship was forced to surrender by 24:00. Tonnant, the only French ship still engaged, fought on against Majestic until 03:00, when the mortally wounded Captain Aristide Aubert Du Petit Thouars succeeded in dragging his ship to the temporary safety of the rear division under Rear-Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve.
At 04:00 on 2 August, firing began again between Villeneuve's ships and a scratch British squadron formed from the less damaged ships.  By 11:00, Villeneuve had conducted a successful fighting withdrawal to the mouth of the bay, and was able to escape to open water. However, Villeneuve had been forced to abandon the battered Tonnant and the grounded Timoléon, retaining just two ships of the line and two frigates. While Villeneuve escaped, British ships received the surrender of Heureux and Mercure, which had grounded shortly after the explosion of Orient, and forced the captain of the frigate Artémise to scuttle his vessel. On 3 August, Theseus and Leander were sent to complete the destruction of the French fleet; Tonnant surrendered and Timoléon was set on fire by its crew and destroyed.
Mediterranean campaign of 1798