 Within minutes of issuing the signal and turning his flagship HMS Queen Charlotte , Howe 's plan began to falter . Many of the British captains had either misunderstood or ignored the signal and were hanging back in the original line . Other ships were still struggling with damage from Howe 's earlier engagements and could not get into action fast enough . The result was a ragged formation tipped by Queen Charlotte that headed unevenly for Villaret 's fleet . The French responded by firing on the British ships as they approached , but the lack of training and coordination in the French fleet was obvious ; many ships which did obey Howe 's order and attacked the French directly arrived in action without significant damage . 
