The Protecteur was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, the only to have borne the name.
   She was laid down in 1757 and launched in 1760.
   Under M. de Grasse-Limermont, the Protecteur took part in the American revolutionary war, notably the Battle of Grenada.
   A model of a 64-ship of the line on display at the Musée de la Marine is labelled as representing the Protecteur, probably as the result of an error of Admiral Pâris. The model is probably that of the Protée (1748 - 1771)