Enterprise-class frigate

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'Medea' (1778) J8184.jpg
Plan of the Enterprise-class frigate Medea dated 1778
Class overview
Built17711791
In commission17751828
Completed27
General characteristics
Tons burthen593 89/94
Length120 ft 6 in (36.73 m)
Beam33 ft 6 in (10.21 m)
Depth of hold11 ft (3.4 m)
Sail plan Full-rigged ship
Complement200
Armament
  • UD: 24 × 9-pounder guns
  • QD: 4 × 3-pounder guns
  • From 1780:
  • UD: 24 × 9-pounder guns
  • QD: 4 × 6-pounder guns, 4 × 18-pounder carronades
  • FC: 2 × 18-pounder carronades

The Enterprise-class frigates were the final class of 28-gun sailing frigates of the sixth-rate to be produced for the Royal Navy. These twenty-seven vessels were designed in 1770 by John Williams. A first batch of five ships were ordered as part of the programme sparked by the Falklands Islands emergency. Two ships were built by contract in private shipyards, while three others were constructed in the Royal Dockyards using foreign oak.

Contents

A second batch of fifteen ships were ordered in 1776 to 1778 to meet the exigencies of the North American situation, and a final group of seven ships followed in 1782 to 1783 with only some minor modifications to include side gangways running flush with the quarter deck and forecastle, and with solid bulkheads along the quarterdeck.

Ships in class

First batch

Second batch

Third batch

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