The Two French Naval Frigates That Vanished in the South Pacific in 1788 and Were Not Located Until Anchor Recoveries on a Solomon Islands Reef in 1827
Jean-François de La Pérouse's two-ship Pacific expedition departed Brest in August 1785 with 220 men. Their last known position was Botany Bay in March 1788. The ships and crews disappeared in the southwest Pacific. The Irish merchant Peter Dillon located the wreckage on a reef off Vanikoro in the Solomon Islands in 1827 — thirty-nine years after the disappearance.
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