HMS ''Tweed'' was a 32-gun sailing
frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...
of the
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 N ...
produced for the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
. She was designed in 1757 by
Sir Thomas Slade, based on the lines of the smaller
sixth rate
In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works an ...
HMS ''Tartar'', but with a 10-foot midsection inserted. She was built in
Blaydes Yard
Blaydes' Yard was a private shipbuilder in Kingston upon Hull, England, founded in the 18th century which fulfilled multiple Royal Navy contracts. Her most notable ship was HMS Bounty, HMS ''Bounty'' famed for its mutiny.
History
Hugh Blaydes ...
in
Kingston-Upon-Hull.
''Tweed'' was commissioned in April 1759 under Captain William Paston. On 15 March 1761 ''Tweed'' captured the French privateer ''Hardi'', off Cape Finisterre. ''Hardi'', of Bayonne, was armed with 10 guns and had a crew of 125 men. She had been out 18 days but had not captured anything. ''Tweed'' took ''Hardi'' into Lisbon.
In 1763 command passed to Captain
Charles Douglas until ''Tweed'' paid off into reserve in April 1765. In November 1766 she was recommissioned under Captain Thomas Collingwood. In 1770 command passed to Captain
George Collier until the ship
paid off into reserve again in 1771.
The design was not considered to be very successful and no further ships of this class were built, while the ''Tweed'' herself was sold in 1776 following a survey in 1771 that indicated that she would require a
Middling Repair taking £3,500 and nine months to complete.
Citations
References
* Robert Gardiner, ''The First Frigates'', Conway Maritime Press, London 1992. .
* David Lyon, ''The Sailing Navy List'', Conway Maritime Press, London 1993. .
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tweed (1759)
1759 ships
Fifth-rate frigates of the Royal Navy