Lyme-class frigate

The Lyme class were a class of two 24-gun sixth-rate frigates of the Royal Navy. They served during the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War.

Class overview
Name	Lyme
Operators	Royal Navy
Succeeded by	Lowestoffe class
Built	1747–1749
In service	1749–1771
Completed	2
Lost	1
Retired	1
General characteristics
Type	24-gun (later 28-gun) sixth-rate frigate
Tons burthen	581+50⁄94 bm
Length	117 ft 10 in (35.9 m) (overall) 96 ft 5.5 in (29.4 m) (keel)
Beam	33 ft 8 in (10.3 m)
Depth of hold	10 ft 2 in (3.10 m)
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	160 (raised to 180 on 22 September 1756, and to 200 on 11 November 1756)
Armament	28 guns: Upper gun deck: 24 × 9-pdrs Quarterdeck: 4 × 3-pdrs (after 22 September 1756) + 12 × 1⁄2-pdr swivels after 11 November 1756

They were built to the draught of a French privateer named Le Tygre, which had been captured earlier in 1747. They were initially rated as 24-gun ships, in spite of having four 3-pdr guns mounted on the quarterdeck, as well as the twenty-four 9-pdr guns forming their primary battery on the upper deck. However, in 1756 they were re-classed as 28-gun ships. They are normally seen as the first true sailing frigates to be built for the Royal Navy.

Ships in class

• HMS Lyme
  • Ordered: 29 April 1747
  • Builder: Deptford Royal Dockyard
  • Laid Down: 24 September 1747
  • Launched: 10 December 1748
  • Completed: 8 February 1749
  • Fate: Wrecked off the Baltic coast of Sweden on 18 October 1760.
• HMS Unicorn
  • Ordered: 29 April 1747
  • Builder: Plymouth Royal Dockyard
  • Laid down: 3 July 1747
  • Launched: 7 December 1748
  • Completed: 17 July 1749
  • Fate: Broken up at Sheerness Dockyard in December 1771

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. ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6