- Enterprise class frigate
The Enterprise class frigates were the final class of 28-gun sailing
frigate s of thesixth-rate to be produced for theRoyal Navy . These twenty-seven vessels were designed in1770 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.A second batch of fifteen ships were ordered in
1776 to1778 to meet the exigencies of the North American situation, and a final group of seven ships followed in1782 to1783 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
* "Siren"
** Ordered:25 December 1770
** Built by: John Henniker and Company, Chatham.
** Keel laid: April1771
** Launched:2 November 1773
** Completed:5 October 1775 at Chatham Royal Dockyard.
** Fate: Grounded and abandoned under fite off Point Judith, Connecticut on6 November 1777 .
* "Fox"
** Ordered:25 December 1770
** Built by: Thomas Raymond, Northam (Southampton).
** Keel laid: May1771
** Launched:2 September 1773
** Completed:12 February 1776 at Portsmouth Royal Dockyard.
** Fate: Captured by the French off Brest on11 September 1778 .
* "Surprise"
** Ordered: January1771
** Built by: Woolwich Royal Dockyard.
** Keel laid:5 September 1771
** Launched:13 April 1774
** Completed:15 April 1775
** Fate: Sold at Woolwich Dockyard on24 April 1783 .
* "Enterprise"
** Ordered: January1771
** Built by: Deptford Royal Dockyard.
** Keel laid:9 September 1771
** Launched:24 August 1774
** Completed:20 June 1775
** Fate: Taken to pieces at Deptford Dockyard in August1807 .
* "Actaeon"
** Ordered:5 November 1771
** Built by: Woolwich Royal Dockyard.
** Keel laid: October1772
** Launched:18 April 1775
** Completed:3 August 1775
** Fate: Grounded off Fort Sullivan, South Carolna and burnt to avoid capture on29 June 1776 .SECOND BATCH
* "Proserpine"
** Ordered:14 May 1776
** Built by: John Barnard, Harwich.
** Keel laid: June1776
** Launched:7 July 1777
** Completed:23 September 1777 at Sheerness Dockyard.
** Fate: Wrecked in the Elbe Estuary on1 February 1799 .
* "Medea"
** Ordered:14 May 1776
** Built by: James Martin Hillhouse, Bristol.
** Keel laid: June1776
** Launched:28 April 1778
** Completed:15 September 1778 at Plymouth Dockyard.
** Fate: Fitted as hospital ship1801 . Sold1805 .
* "Andromeda"
** Ordered:14 May 1776
** Built by: Robert Fabian, East Cowes.
** Keel laid: July1776
** Launched:18 November 1777
** Completed:28 January 1778 at Portsmouth Dockyard.
** Fate: Lost with all hands in a hurricane off Martinique on11 October 1780 .
* "Aurora"
** Ordered:3 July 1776
** Built by: John Perry & Compant, Blackwall.
** Keel laid: July1776
** Launched:7 June 1777
** Completed:9 August 1777 at Woolwich Dockyard.
** Fate: Sold at Chatham on3 November 1814 .
* "Sibyl"
** Ordered:24 July 1776
** Built by: Henry Adams, Bucklers Hard.
** Keel laid:10 December 1776
** Launched:2 January 1779
** Completed:13 March 1779 at Portsmouth Dockyard.
** Fate: Wrecked off Madagascar on26 July 1798 .
* "Brilliant"
** Ordered:9 October 1776
** Built by: Henry Adams, Bucklers Hard.
** Keel laid: February1777
** Launched:15 July 1779
** Completed:4 September 1779 at Portsmouth Dockyard.
** Fate: Taken to pieces at Portsmouth Dockyard in November1811 .
* "Pomona"
** Ordered:7 March 1777
** Built by: Thomas Raymond, Chapel (Southampton).
** Keel laid:8 May 1777
** Launched:22 September 1778
** Completed:17 December 1778 at Portsmouth Dockyard.
** Fate: Taken to pieces at Portsmouth Dockyard in August1811 .
* "Crescent"
** Ordered:19 July 1777
** Built by: James Martin Hillhouse, Bristol.
** Keel laid:19 August 1777
** Launched: March1779
** Completed:30 June 1779 at Plymouth Dockyard.
** Fate: Captured by the French on19 June 1781 .
* "Nemesis"
** Ordered:30 September 1777
** Built by: Jolly, Leathers & Barton, Liverpool.
** Keel laid: November1777
** Launched:23 January 1780
** Completed:22 June 1780 at Plymouth Dockyard.
** Fate: Sold for breaking up at Plymouth Dockyard on9 June 1814 .
* "Resource"
** Ordered:30 September 1777
** Built by: John Randall & Company, Rotherhithe.
** Keel laid: November1777
** Launched:10 August 1778
** Completed:2 October 1778 at Deptford Dockyard.
** Fate: Renamed "Enterprise" on17 April 1806 . Sold at Deptford Dockyard on28 August 1816 .
* "Mercury"
** Ordered:22 January 1778
** Built by: Peter Mestaer, Rotherhithe.
** Keel laid:25 March 1778
** Launched:9 December 1779
** Completed:24 February 1780 at Deptford Dockyard.
** Fate: Taken to pieces at Woolwich Dockyard in January1814 .
* "Pegasus"
** Ordered:21 February 1778
** Built by: Deptford Dockyard.
** Keel laid:20 June 1778
** Launched:1 June 1779
** Completed:20 July 1779 .
** Fate: Sold at Deptford Dockyard to break up on28 August 1816 .
* "Cyclops"
** Ordered:6 March 1778
** Built by: James Menetone & Son, Limehouse.
** Keel laid:3 April 1778
** Launched:31 July 1779
** Completed:26 September 1779 at Deptford Dockyard.
** Fate: Sold at Portsmouth Dockyard on1 September 1814 .
* "Vestal"
** Ordered:18 March 1778
** Built by: Robert & John Batson, Limehouse.
** Keel laid:1 May 1778
** Launched:24 December 1779
** Completed:25 February 1780 at Deptford Dockyard.
** Fate: Sold at Barbados in February1816 .
* "Laurel"
** Ordered:30 April 1778
** Built by: Thomas Raymond, Chapel (Southampton).
** Keel laid:3 June 1778
** Launched:27 October 1779
** Completed:4 January 1780 at Portsmouth Dockyard.
** Fate: Wrecked in a hurricane off Martinique on11 October 1780 .THIRD BATCH
* "Thisbe"
** Ordered:23 February 1782
** Built by: Thomas King, Dover.
** Keel laid: September1782
** Launched:25 November 1783
** Completed:19 April 1784 at Deptford Dockyard.
* "Circe"
** Ordered:6 March 1782
** Built by: Henry Ladd, Dover.
** Keel laid: December1782
** Launched:30 September 1785
** Completed:2 November 1790 at Woolwich Dockyard.
** Fate: Wrecked off Great Yarmouth on17 November 1803 .
* "Rose"
** Ordered:15 March 1782
** Built by: Joshua Stewart & Hall, Sandgate.
** Keel laid: June1782
** Launched:1 July 1783
** Completed:23 October 1783 at Deptford Dockyard.
** Fate: Wrecked off Jamaica on28 June 1794 .
* "Hussar"
** Ordered:26 March 1782
** Built by: Fabian, Clayton & Willson, Sandgate.
** Keel laid: June1782
** Launched:1 September 1784
** Completed: November1787 at Deptford Dockyard.
** Fate: Wrecked off Brittany27 December 1796
* "Alligator"
** Ordered:7 May 1782
** Built by: Philemon Jacobs, Sandgate.
** Keel laid: December1782
** Launched:18 April 1787
** Completed:18 July 1790 at Deptford Dockyard.
** Fate: Sold at Plymouth Dockyard21 July 1814 .
* "Dido"
** Ordered:5 June 1782
** Built by: Joshua Stuart & Hall, Sandgate.
** Keel laid: September1782
** Launched:27 November 1784
** Completed: October1787 at Portsmouth Dockyard.
** Fate: Sold at Portsmouth Dockyard on3 April 1817 .
* "Lapwing"
** Ordered:22 October 1782
** Built by: Thomas King, Dover.
** Keel laid: February1783
** Launched:21 September 1785
** Completed:19 May 1791 at Woolwich Dockyard.
** Fate: Taken to pieces at Plymouth Dockyard in May1828 .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.
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