At 2:30 pm the British "Culloden" engaged the rearmost French ship, the "Centaure"; they were evenly matched, each being equipped with 74 heavy guns, 37 on each side. By this time the French had formed a line ahead formation, with their flagship in the centre. Boscawen claimed he wished his leading, and therefore his fastest, ships to engage the first French ships they encountered; then, as the next British ship arrived, bypass this fight to attack the next French ship in line. Any bypassed French ships could, he believed, be safely left to Brodrick's squadron. However, only his own flagship adopted this approach, and only four of the seven French ships were engaged. "Centaure" was attacked by five British ships, fighting on for five hours and seriously delaying the British pursuit before surrendering after being battered into a wreck and having more than a third of her crew killed or wounded.