The ''Apollo''-class 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 were a series of twenty-seven ships that the

British Admiralty The Admiralty was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy until 1964, historically under its titular head, the Lord High Admiral – one of the Great Officers of State. For much of it ...

commissioned be built to a 1798 design by Sir William Rule. Twenty-five served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

during the

Napoleonic Wars 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 ...

, two being launched too late. Of the 25 ships that served during the Napoleonic Wars, only one was lost to enemy action. Of the entire class of 27 ships, only two were lost to wrecking, and none to foundering. The Admiralty ordered three frigates in 1798–1800. Following the

Peace of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (french: la paix d'Amiens, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it se ...

, it ordered a further twenty-four sister-ships to the same design between 1803 and 1812. The last was ordered to a fresh 38-gun design. Initially, the Admiralty split the order for the 24 vessels equally between its yards and commercial yards, but two commercial yards failed to perform and the Admiralty transferred these orders to its own dockyards, making the split 14–10 as between the Admiralty and commercial yards.

Ships in class

* ** Builder: John Dudman,

Deptford Wharf Deptford Wharf in London, UK is situated on the Thames Path southeast of South Dock Marina, across the culverted mouth of the Earl's Sluice and north of Aragon Tower. In the late 18th and early 19th century this area was used for shipbuildi ...

** Ordered: 15 September 1798 ** Laid down: November 1798 ** Launched: 16 August 1799 ** Completed: 5 October 1799 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 a ...

** Fate: Wrecked off

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

on 2 April 1804. * ** Builder: John Dudman,

** Ordered: 18 January 1799 ** Laid down: February 1800 ** Launched: 2 October 1800 ** Completed: 17 January 1801 at

. ** Fate: Captured and burnt by the French 19 July 1805. * ** Builder: Balthazar and Edward 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: 16 August 1800 ** Laid down: October 1801 ** Launched: 6 June 1803 ** Completed: 9 August 1803 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 l ...

. ** Fate: Sold to be broken up 16 August 1860 at Gibraltar. * ** Builder: Mr Cook, Dartmouth (originally Benjamin Tanner, at same yard, but he became bankrupt in February 1807) ** Ordered: 17 March 1803 originally; re-ordered 2 June 1809 ** Laid down: July 1804 ** Launched: 28 August 1813 ** Completed: 20 September 1813 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: Hulked 1830 for quarantine service. Broken up November 1854. * ** Builder: Plymouth Dockyard (originally Benjamin Tanner, but he became bankrupt in February 1807) ** Ordered: 17 March 1803 originally; re-ordered 23 December 1810 ** Laid down: September 1811 ** Launched: 1 May 1813 ** Completed: 20 August 1813 at

** Fate: Broken up August 1833. * ** Builder:

** Ordered: 25 March 1806 ** Laid down: April 1807 ** Launched: 25 July 1808 ** Completed: 6 September 1808 ** Fate: Broken up November 1844. * ** Builder: Thomas Steemson, Paull (near Hull) ** Ordered: 1 October 1806 ** Laid down: January 1807 ** Launched: 19 November 1808 ** Completed: 22 March 1809 at

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century, ...

** Fate: Prison ship 1842; sold for break-up 1884. * ** Builder: Robert Guillaume, Northam (Southampton) ** Ordered: 1 October 1806 ** Laid down: January 1808 ** Launched: 23 September 1809 ** Completed: 23 January 1810 at

** Fate: Cut down into 24-gun sixth rate 1831. Broken up March 1849. * ** Builder: Simon Temple, South Shields ** Ordered: 1 October 1806 ** Laid down: March 1807 ** Launched: 8 December 1809 ** Completed: 1810 ** Fate: Lost at sea with her entire crew 4 December 1811. * ** Builder: George Parsons, Warsash ** Ordered: 1 October 1806 ** Laid down: August 1807 ** Launched: 13 October 1810 ** Completed: 9 February 1811 at

** Fate: Broken up January 1821. * ** Builder: Wilson and Company, Liverpool ** Ordered: 1 October 1806 ** Laid down: March 1808 ** Launched: 26 March 1811 ** Completed: 29 July 1811 at

** Fate: 1860 "Ragged School Ship", Cardiff; sold for breaking up in 1905. * ** Builder: "Prince of Wales Island" (

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

** Ordered: 19 February 1807 ** Laid down: February 1808 ** Launched: 6 March 1809 ** Completed: 28 October 1810 at

Woolwich Dockyard Woolwich Dockyard (formally H.M. Dockyard, Woolwich, also known as The King's Yard, Woolwich) was an English Royal Navy Dockyard, naval dockyard along the river Thames at Woolwich in north-west Kent, where many ships were built from the early 1 ...

** Fate: Broken up in March 1816. * ** Builder:

** Ordered: 27 February 1808 ** Laid down: August 1808 ** Launched: 12 August 1809 ** Completed: 21 September 1809. ** Fate: Broken up at

in August 1819. * ** Builder: Woolwich Dockyard ** Ordered: 23 March 1808 ** Laid down: October 1808 ** Launched: 9 November 1809 ** Completed: 8 December 1809. ** Fate: Sold to be broken up on 30 April 1817. * ** Builder: George Parsons,

Warsash Warsash is a village in southern Hampshire, England, situated at the mouth of the River Hamble, west of the area known as Locks Heath. Boating plays an important part in the village's economy, and the village has a sailing club. It is also home ...

** Ordered: May 1808 ** Laid down: June 1808 ** Launched: 22 December 1809 ** Completed: 25 April 1810 at

. ** Fate: Broken up at

in May 1817. * ** Builder: Woolwich Dockyard ** Ordered: 29 December 1806 ** Laid down: October 1807 ** Launched: 11 September 1809 ** Completed: 18 October 1809. ** Fate: Wrecked 28 January 1812 * ** Builder: Robert Guillaume, Northam (Southampton) ** Ordered: 26 September 1808 ** Laid down: December 1808 ** Launched: May 1810 ** Completed: 24 September 1810 at

. ** Fate: Broken up at

in April 1851. * ** Builder:

** Ordered: 28 September 1808 ** Laid down: December 1808 ** Launched: 23 December 1809 ** Completed: 16 February 1810. ** Fate: Sold to be broken up in July 1906. * ** Builder:

** Ordered: 12 May 1809 ** Laid down: August 1809 ** Launched: 31 August 1810 ** Completed: 18 October 1810. ** Fate: Hulked in 1836; coal hulk (Jamaica) in 1840; broken up in 1849. * ** Builder:

** Ordered: 8 January 1810 ** Laid down: September 1810 ** Launched: 18 October 1811 ** Completed: 13 December 1811. ** Fate: Coal hulk 1838. Broken up in January 1867. * ** Builder:

** Ordered: 17 October 1810 ** Laid down: January 1811 ** Launched: 26 September 1812 ** Completed: November 1812. ** Fate: Broken up in September 1821. * ** Builder: Daniel List,

Binstead Binstead is a village on the Isle of Wight. It is located in the northeast part of the Island, west of Ryde on the main road A3054 between Ryde and Newport. In the 2011 Census Binstead had been incorporated within Ryde whilst still retaining it ...

, Isle of Wight ** Ordered: 14 December 1810 ** Laid down: April 1811 ** Launched: 8 August 1812 ** Completed: 24 October 1812 at Portsmouth Dockyard. ** Fate: Broken up in March 1845. * ** Builder: Portsmouth Dockyard (originally Robert Guillaume, Northam, Southampton, but he became bankrupt in 1813) ** Ordered: 19 March 1811 originally; re-ordered 10 December 1813 ** Laid down: May 1811 by Guillaume; re-laid April 1814 at Portsmouth ** Launched: 13 April 1816 ** Completed: 27 April 1816 at Portsmouth Dockyard. ** Fate: Sold to be broken up on 11 January 1862. * ** Builder:

** Ordered: 4 April 1811 ** Laid down: October 1811 ** Launched: 21 October 1812 ** Completed: 10 December 1812. ** Fate: Sold to be broken up on 27 May 1841. * ** Builder:

** Ordered: 6 January 1812 ** Laid down: October 1812 ** Launched: 6 April 1814 ** Completed: 6 May 1814. ** Fate: Broken up in September 1859. * ** Builder:

** Ordered: 11 December 1812 ** Laid down: November 1813 ** Launched: 28 December 1814 ** Completed: 5 March 1815. ** Fate: Training ship 1860, renamed ''Briton'' 8 November 1889. Sold to be broken up on 12 May 1908. * – re-ordered to a radically new design from 1816. ** Builder:

** Ordered: 11 December 1812 ** Laid down: March 1816 ** Launched: 12 January 1819 ** Completed: 1824. ** Fate: Receiving ship in November 1850, renamed ''Calypso'' on 9 March 1870. Sold to be broken up on 28 February 1895.

References

* Robert Gardiner, ''The Heavy Frigate'', Conway Maritime Press, London 1994. * Rif Winfield, ''British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates'', 2nd edition, Seaforth Publishing, 2008. . * David Lyon and Rif Winfield, ''The Sail and Steam Navy List, 1815–1889'', Chatham Publishing, 2004. . {{Apollo class frigate Frigates of the Royal Navy Ship classes of the Royal Navy