Sphinx-class post ship
The Sphinx-class sailing sixth rates were a series of ten post ships built to a 1773 design by John Williams. Although smaller than true frigates, post ships were often referred to incorrectly as frigates by sea officers, but not by the Admiralty or Navy Board.
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Sphinx-class post ships |
| Operators |  Royal Navy |
| Completed | 10 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Sixth-rate post ship |
| Tons burthen | 431 37/94 (as designed) |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 30 ft 1 in (9.17 m) |
| Depth of hold | 9 ft 8 in (2.95 m) |
| Propulsion | Sail |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Complement | 140 (reduced to 134 in 1794). |
| Armament |
|
The first vessel in the class was launched in 1775, six more in 1776, two in 1777 and the last in 1781. The vessels of the class served in the Royal Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Three of them - Sphinx and Ariel in September 1779, and Unicorn in September 1780 - were captured by the French Navy, but Sphinx was recovered in December 1779 and Unicorn in April 1781. Some survived to see service in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
Ships in class
| Name | Ordered | Builder | Begun | Launched | Completed | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sphinx | 15 April 1773 | Portsmouth Dockyard | November 1773 | 25 October 1775 | 29 December 1775 | Broken up at Portsmouth in June 1811. |
| Camilla | 15 April 1773 | Chatham Dockyard | May 1774 | 20 April 1776 | 9 July 1776 | Sold to be broken up in April 1831. |
| Daphne | 15 April 1773 | Woolwich Dockyard | August 1774 | 21 March 1776 | 25 May 1776 | Sold at Sheerness in May 1802. |
| Galatea | 15 April 1773 | Deptford Dockyard | October 1774 | 21 March 1776 | 26 May 1776 | Broken up at Sheerness in April 1783. |
| Ariadne | 10 April 1775 | Chatham Dockyard | May 1775 | 27 December 1776 | 23 February 1777 | Sold at Chatham in August 1814. |
| Vestal | 1 August 1775 | Plymouth Dockyard | February 1776 | 23 May 1777 | 9 July 1777 | Lost with all hands in a gale off Newfoundland in October 1777. |
| Perseus | 30 October 1775 | John Randall, Rotherhithe | November 1775 | 20 March 1776 | 26 May 1776 at Deptford Dockyard | Broken up at Sheerness in September 1805. |
| Unicorn | 30 October 1775 | John Randall, Rotherhithe | November 1775 | 23 March 1776 | 25 May 1776 at Woolwich Dockyard | Broken up at Deptford in August 1787. |
| Ariel | 3 July 1776 | John Perry, Blackwall | July 1776 | 7 July 1777 | 12 August 1777 at Woolwich Dockyard | Taken by the French Navy on 10 September 1779. |
| Narcissus | 8 January 1777 | Plymouth Dockyard | 13 June 1777 | 9 May 1781 | 20 June 1781 | Wrecked off the Bahamas in October 1796. |
References
- Rif Winfield, British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1714-1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates, Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley (2007). ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6.
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