The ''Active''-class frigate was a 32-gun
fifth-rate 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 ...
class of eight ships designed by Edward Hunt to replace the design, which they resembled with a distinct midsection. Due to poor performance of the ''Active'' class, orders continued for the ''Amazon'' class.
Description
The ''Active'' class was designed with a gundeck, measuring at the
keel, at the
beam
Beam may refer to:
Streams of particles or energy
*Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy
**Laser beam
*Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles
**Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...
, and a
draught of . They
displaced tons burthen
Builder's Old Measurement (BOM, bm, OM, and o.m.) is the method used in England from approximately 1650 to 1849 for calculating the cargo capacity of a ship. It is a volumetric measurement of cubic capacity. It estimated the tonnage of a ship bas ...
. The class was designed with an armament of 26 cannon on the gundeck, four guns on the quarterdeck with four
carronade
A carronade is a short, smoothbore, cast-iron cannon which was used by the Royal Navy. It was first produced by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, and was used from the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century. Its main func ...
s, and two 6 pdr guns and two 24 pdr carronades on the
forecastle.
Ships in class
* - wrecked attempting to exit
Castle Harbour Castle Harbour is a large natural harbour in Bermuda. It is located between the northeastern end of the main island and St. David's Island. Originally called ''Southampton Port'', it was renamed as a result of its heavy fortification in the early ...
, Bermuda, via
Castle Roads
Castle Roads is the primary channel by which vessels enter Castle Harbour, Bermuda, from the Atlantic Ocean. Although little used, today, except by pleasure boats, Castle Harbour was once an important anchorage, and an access route used by ships ...
* – wrecked on Anticosti Island in the St Lawrence estuary 13 July 1796, abandoned 30 July 1796.
* - broken up July 1811.
* – broken up 1816
* – wrecked on Anegada Island in the Virgin Islands 23 March 1808.
* – broken up 1830.
* – broken up 1830.
* - broken up November 1815.
References
*
Age of Sail frigates of the United Kingdom
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