<P> Jones renamed her Bon Homme Richard (usually rendered in more correct French as Bonhomme Richard) in honor of Benjamin Franklin, the American Commissioner at Paris whose Poor Richard's Almanac was published in France under the title Les Maximes du Bonhomme Richard . </P> <P> On 19 June 1779, Bonhomme Richard sailed from Lorient accompanied by USS Alliance, Pallas, Vengeance, and Cerf with troop transports and merchant vessels under convoy to Bordeaux and to cruise against the British in the Bay of Biscay . Forced to return to port for repair, the squadron sailed again 14 August 1779 . It went northwest around the west coast of the British Isles into the North Sea and then down the east coast . The squadron took 16 merchant vessels as prizes . </P> <P> On 23 September 1779, the squadron encountered the Baltic Fleet of 41 sail under convoy of the HMS Serapis and HM hired armed vessel Countess of Scarborough near Flamborough Head . The Bonhomme Richard and Serapis entered a bitter engagement at about 6: 00 p.m. The battle continued for the next four hours, costing the lives of nearly half of the American and British crews . British victory seemed inevitable, as the more heavily armed Serapis used its firepower to rake Bonhomme Richard with devastating effect . The commander of the Serapis finally called on Jones to surrender . He replied, "Sir, I have not yet begun to fight!" Jones eventually managed to lash the ships together, nullifying his opponent's greater maneuverability and allowing him to take advantage of the larger size and considerably more numerous crew of Bonhomme Richard . An attempt by the Americans to board Serapis was repulsed, as was an attempt by the British to board Bonhomme Richard . Finally, after another of Jones's ships joined the fight, the British captain was forced to surrender at about 10: 30 p.m. The Bonhomme Richard--shattered, on fire, leaking badly--defied all efforts to save her and sank about 36 hours later at 11: 00 a.m. on Saturday, 25 September 1779 . Jones sailed the captured Serapis to the Dutch United Provinces for repairs . </P> <P> Though the Bonhomme Richard sank after the battle, the battle's outcome was one of the factors that convinced the French crown to back the colonies in their fight to become independent of British authority . </P>

What was the outcome of the naval battle between the bonhomme richard and the serapis