Lyme-class frigate
 | This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (February 2013) |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Lyme |
| Operators |  Royal Navy |
| Succeeded by | Lowestoffe class |
| Built | 1747–1749 |
| In service | 1749–1771 |
| Completed | 2 |
| Lost | 1 |
| Retired | 1 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | 24-gun (later 28-gun) sixth-rate frigate |
| Tons burthen | 581+50⁄94 bm |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 33 ft 8 in (10.3 m) |
| Depth of hold | 10 ft 2 in (3.10 m) |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Complement | 160 (raised to 180 on 22 September 1756, and to 200 on 11 November 1756) |
| Armament |
|
The Lyme class were a class of two 24-gun sixth-rate frigates of the Royal Navy. They served during the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War.
They were built to the draught of a French privateer named Le Tygre, which had been captured earlier in 1747. They were initially rated as 24-gun ships, in spite of having four 3-pdr guns mounted on the quarterdeck, as well as the twenty-four 9-pdr guns forming their primary battery on the upper deck. However, in 1756 they were re-classed as 28-gun ships. They are normally seen as the first true sailing frigates to be built for the Royal Navy.
Ships in class
- HMS Lyme
- Ordered: 29 April 1747
- Builder: Deptford Royal Dockyard
- Laid Down: 24 September 1747
- Launched: 10 December 1748
- Completed: 8 February 1749
- Fate: Wrecked off the Baltic coast of Sweden on 18 October 1760.
- HMS Unicorn
- Ordered: 29 April 1747
- Builder: Plymouth Royal Dockyard
- Laid down: 3 July 1747
- Launched: 7 December 1748
- Completed: 17 July 1749
- Fate: Broken up at Sheerness Dockyard in December 1771
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. ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6