Venus-class frigate
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Built: | 1756–1758 |
| In commission: | 1758–1809 |
| Completed: | 3 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen: | 718 18⁄94 bm (as designed) |
| Length: |
|
| Beam: | 35 ft 8 in (11 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 12 ft 4 in (4 m) |
| Sail plan: | Full-rigged ship |
| Complement: | 240 |
| Armament: |
|
The Venus-class frigates were three 36-gun sailing frigates of the fifth rate produced for the Royal Navy. They were designed in 1756 by Sir Thomas Slade, and were enlarged from his design for the 32-gun Southampton-class frigates, which had been approved four months earlier.[1]
The 36-gun frigates, of which this was to be the only British design in the era of the 12-pounder frigate, carried the same battery of twenty-six 12-pounders as the 32-gun predecessors; the only difference lay in the secondary armament on the quarter deck, which was here doubled to eight 6-pounders. Slade's 36-gun design was approved on 13 July 1756, on which date two ships were approved to be built by contract to these plans. A third ship was ordered about two weeks later, to be built in a royal dockyard.[1]
The Venus-class were faster than their Southampton-class predecessors, making up to 13 knots ahead of strong winds and ten knots while close-hauled compared with Southampton-class speeds of 12 and 8 knots respectively. Both Venus- and Southampton-class frigates were highly maneuverable and capable of withstanding heavy weather, in comparison with their French counterparts during the Seven Years' War.[2]
Ships in class
- HMS Pallas
- Ordered: 13 July 1756
- Built by: William Wells & Company, Deptford.
- Keel laid: July 1756
- Launched: 30 August 1757
- Completed: 8 October 1757 at Deptford Dockyard.
- Fate: Run ashore due to leaks and burnt on Sao Jorge (Azores) on 12 February 1783.
- HMS Venus
- Ordered: 13 July 1756
- Built by: John Okill, Liverpool.
- Keel laid: 16 August 1756
- Launched: 11 March 1758
- Completed: 30 June 1758 at the builder's shipyard.
- Fate: Reduced to 32 guns in 1792. Renamed Heroine on 14 July 1807. Paid off 1809 and laid up. Sold to break up at Deptford Dockyard on 22 September 1828.
- HMS Brilliant
- Ordered: 29 July 1756
- Built by: Plymouth Dockyard.
- Keel laid: 28 August 1756
- Launched: 27 October 1757
- Completed: 20 November 1757.
- Fate: Sold at Deptford Dockyard on 1 November 1776.
References
Bibliography
- Gardner, Robert (1992). The First Frigates: Nine-Pounder and Twelve-Pounder Frigates, 1748-1815. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0851776019.
- Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships of the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 9781844157006.