The ''Adventure''-class ship was a class of eight 44-gun sailing

two-decker A two-decker is a sail warship which carried her guns on two fully armed decks. Usually additional guns were carried on the upper works (forecastle and quarterdeck), but this was not a continuous battery and thus not counted as a full gun deck ...

warships of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

, classed as a

fifth rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a fifth rate was the second-smallest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six " ratings" based on size and firepower. Rating The rating system in the Royal ...

like a frigate, but carrying two complete decks of guns, a lower battery of 18-pounders and an upper battery of 12-pounders. This enabled the vessel to deliver a broadside of 318 pounds. The class was designed in 1782 by Edward Hunt, Surveyor of the Navy, as a successor to the ''Roebuck'' class design of Sir

Thomas Slade Sir Thomas Slade (1703/4–1771) was an English naval architect, most famous for designing HMS ''Victory'', Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Early life He was the son of Arthur Slade (1682–1746) and his wife Hann ...

. The design saw a slight increase in breadth over the ''Roebuck'' class, but was otherwise very similar. Like the ''Roebuck'' class, the ''Adventure'' class were not counted by the Admiralty as frigates; although sea officers sometimes casually described them and other small two-deckers as frigates, the Admiralty officially never referred to them as such. By 1750, the Admiralty strictly defined frigates as ships of 28 guns or more, carrying all their main battery (24, 26 or even 28 guns) on the upper deck, with no guns or openings on the lower deck (which could thus be at sea level or even lower). A frigate might carry a few smaller guns – 3-pounders or 6-pounders, later 9-pounders – on their quarterdeck and (perhaps) on the forecastle. The ''Adventure''-class ships were two-deckers with complete batteries on both decks, and hence not frigates. Eight ships were ordered during 1782 and completed to this design, although none were ready to take part in the American War of Independence. Most were not brought into service until the outbreak of the

French Revolutionary War The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Prussi ...

, and survived to serve the Royal Navy during the

Napoleonic War The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

Ships in class

* ''Woolwich'' ** Builder: Thomas Calhoun & John Nowlan,

Bursledon Bursledon is a village on the River Hamble in Hampshire, England. It is located within the borough of Eastleigh. Close to the city of Southampton, Bursledon has a railway station, a marina, dockyards and the Bursledon Windmill. Nearby villag ...

** Ordered: 5 March 1782 ** Laid down: January 1783 ** Launched: 15 December 1785 ** Completed: 1786 at

Portsmouth Dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is lo ...

** Fate: Wrecked off

Barbuda Barbuda (), is an island located in the eastern Caribbean forming part of the sovereign state of Antigua and Barbuda. It is located north of the island of Antigua and is part of the Leeward Islands of the West Indies. The island is a popula ...

on 11 September 1813. * ''Severn'' ** Builder: James Martin Hillhouse,

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...

** Ordered: 17 April 1782 ** Laid down: June 1783 ** Launched: 29 April 1786 ** Completed: 17 July 1793 at

Plymouth Dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Devonport (HMNB Devonport) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Portsmouth) and is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the Roy ...

** Fate: Wrecked off Jersey on 21 December 1804 * ''Sheerness'' ** Builder: Henry Adams,

Bucklers Hard Buckler's Hard is a hamlet on the banks of the Beaulieu River in the English county of Hampshire. With its Georgian cottages running down to the river, Buckler's Hard is part of the Beaulieu Estate. The hamlet is some south of the village of ...

** Ordered: 26 April 1782 ** Laid down: December 1783 ** Launched: 16 July 1787 ** Completed: 20 December 1787 at

** Fate: Wrecked off

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...

on 8 January 1805 * ''Chichester'' ** Builder: Crookenden, Taylor & Smith,

Itchenor West Itchenor is a village and civil parish, on the Manhood Peninsula, in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It lies north of the B2179 Chichester to West Wittering road 4.5 miles (7.3 km) southwest of Chichester. The vill ...

** Ordered: 13 May 1782 ** Laid down: August 1782 ** Launched: 10 March 1785 ** Completed: 28 October 1787 at

** Fate: Broken up in July 1815 * ''Adventure'' ** Builder: Perry & Hankey,

Blackwall Yard Blackwall Yard is a small body of water that used to be a shipyard on the River Thames in Blackwall, engaged in ship building and later ship repairs for over 350 years. The yard closed in 1987. History East India Company Blackwall was a sh ...

** Ordered: 5 June 1782 ** Laid down: October 1782 ** Launched: 19 July 1784 ** Completed: 28 October 1784 at

Woolwich Dockyard Woolwich Dockyard (formally H.M. Dockyard, Woolwich, also known as The King's Yard, Woolwich) was an English naval dockyard along the river Thames at Woolwich in north-west Kent, where many ships were built from the early 16th century until ...

** Fate: Broken up in September 1816 * ''Expedition'' ** Builder: John Randall,

Rotherhithe Rotherhithe () is a district of south-east London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, as well as the Isle of ...

** Ordered: 5 June 1782 ** Laid down: October 1783 ** Launched: 29 October 1784 ** Completed: March 1786 at

Deptford Dockyard Deptford Dockyard was an important naval dockyard and base at Deptford on the River Thames, operated by the Royal Navy from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. It built and maintained warships for 350 years, and many significant events ...

** Fate: Broken up in February 1817 * ''Gorgon'' ** Builder: Perry & Hankey,

** Ordered: 19 June 1782 ** Laid down: December 1782 ** Launched: 27 January 1785 ** Completed: 15 December 1787 at

** Fate: Broken up in February 1817 * ''Dover'' ** Builder: George Parsons,

** Ordered: 8 July 1782 ** Laid down: August 1783 ** Launched: May 1786 ** Completed: 1787 at

** Fate: Burnt by accident 20 August 1806

References

* David Lyon, ''The Sailing Navy List'', Brasseys Publications, London 1993. * Rif Winfield, ''British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1714 to 1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates'', Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley 2007. {{ISBN, 978-1-84415-700-6. Ship classes