The ''Richmond''-class frigates were 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 somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

s 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 ...

produced for 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 ...

. They were designed in 1756 by the Navy's Surveyor,

William Bately William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...

, and were his equivalent of the s designed by Bately's co-Surveyor, Thomas Slade. They were faster ships than the ''Southampton''s, and were weatherly craft, remaining dry even in high seas. Three ships were ordered to this design between 1756 and 1757, while a second batch of three ships was ordered between 1761 and 1762 to a slightly modified design.

Ships in class

First batch

* ** Ordered: 12 March 1756 ** Built by: John Buxton, Deptford. ** Keel laid: April 1756 ** Launched: 12 November 1757 ** Completed: 7 December 1757 at Deptford Dockyard. ** Fate: Burnt at Sardinia to avoid capture on 19 May 1793. * ** Ordered: 1 June 1756 ** Built by: William Alexander, Rotherhithe. ** Keel laid: June 1756 ** Launched: 29 September 1757 ** Completed: 6 November 1757 at Deptford Dockyard. ** Fate: Burnt at Rhode Island to avoid capture on 5 August 1778. * ** Ordered: 11 January 1757 ** Built by: Henry Adams, Bucklers Hard. ** Keel laid: February 1757 ** Launched: 10 April 1758 ** Completed: 29 May 1758 at Portsmouth Dockyard. ** Fate: Taken to pieces at Woolwich Dockyard in September 1803.

Second (modified) batch

* ** Ordered: 24 March 1761 ** Built by: Elias Bird, Rotherhithe. ** Keel laid: 5 May 1761 ** Launched: 10 May 1762 ** Completed: 9 July 1762 at Deptford Dockyard. ** Fate: Burnt at Rhode Island to avoid capture on 5 August 1778. * ** Ordered: 24 March 1761 ** Built by: Robert Inwood, Rotherhithe. ** Keel laid: 5 May 1761 ** Launched: 11 May 1762 ** Completed: 16 July 1762 at Deptford Dockyard. ** Fate: Taken to pieces at Plymouth Dockyard in May 1811. * ** Ordered: 30 January 1762 ** Built by: Robert Batson, Limehouse. ** Keel laid: 1 April 1762 ** Launched: 13 June 1763 ** Completed: 19 September 1765 at Deptford Dockyard. ** Fate: Sold at Chatham Dockyard on 10 February 1785.

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. {{Richmond class frigate Frigate classes Ship classes of the Royal Navy