Coventry class frigate

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

General characteristics Royal Navy Ensign
tons burthen: 586 30/94 (as designed)
Length: 118 feet 4in (36.068 m)
Beam: 33 feet 8in (10.26 m)
Depth of hold: 10 feet 6in (3.2 m)
Propulsion: Sail
Speed:
Range:
Complement: 200.
Armament (as built): UD: Twenty-four 9-pounder guns;
QD four 3-pounder guns (from 1780, four 6-pounder guns and 18-pounder carronades).
FC nil (from 1780, two 18-pounder carronades).

These 28-gun sailing frigates of the Sixth Rate were designed in 1756 by Sir Thomas Slade “to the draught of the Tartar with such alterations withinboard as may be judged necessary”. A total of twelve ships were built in oak during the Seven Years’ War, all odered from private shipyards; eleven of them were built over the relatively short period of three years; the twelfth was completed following the close of that War in a Royal Dockyard as its original contractor became bankrupt, and one further ship to this design was also built postwar in a Royal Dockyard.

A variant was designed for building with fir hulls rather than oak; this variant design, to which five further vessels were built (see Second Batch below), all in the Royal Dockyards, differed in some respects, notably by having a square tuck stern. The use of this material meant that they could be built much more rapidly than their oak near-sisters, but the fir deteriorated quickly, so that they had a considerably shorter life.

More than a quarter-century after the design was produced, two further oak-built ships to this design were ordered to be built by contract in October 1782. One of these was cancelled a year later when the builder became bankrupt.

[edit] Ships in class




[edit] References

  • David Lyon, "The Sailing Navy List", Brasseys Publications, London 1993.
  • Rif Winfield, "British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1714 to 1792", Seaforth Publishing, London 2007.