The Adventure-class ship was a class of eight 44-gun sailing two-decker

Two-decker

A two-decker is a sail warship which carried her guns on two fully armed decks. Usually additional guns were carried on the upper works , but this was not a continuous battery, so were not counted....

 warships of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

, classed as a fifth rate like a frigate, but carrying two complete decks of guns, a lower battery of 18-pounders and an upper battery of 12-pounders. This enabled the vessel to deliver a broadside of 318 pounds.

The class was designed in 1782 by Edward Hunt, Surveyor of the Navy, as a successor to the Roebuck class

Roebuck class ship

The Roebuck class ship was a class of twenty 44-gun sailing two-decker warships of the Royal Navy. The class carried two complete decks of guns, a lower battery of 18-pounders and an upper battery of 9-pounders. This battery enabled the vessel to deliver a broadside of 285 pounds...

 design of Sir Thomas Slade

Thomas Slade

Sir Thomas Slade was an English naval architect, most famous for designing HMS Victory, Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.-Career Outline:...

. The design saw a slight increase in breadth over the Roebuck class, but was otherwise very similar.

Like the Roebuck class, the Adventure class were not counted by the Admiralty as frigates; although sea officers sometimes casually described them and other small two-deckers as frigates, the Admiralty officially never referred to them as such. By 1750, the Admiralty strictly defined frigates as ships of 28 guns or more, carrying all their main battery (24, 26 or even 28 guns) on the upper deck, with no guns or openings on the lower deck (which could thus be at sea level or even lower). A frigate might carry a few smaller guns - 3-pounders or 6-pounders, later 9-pounders - on their quarterdeck and (perhaps) on the forecastle. The Adventure-class ships were two-deckers with complete batteries on both decks, and hence not frigates.

Eight ships were ordered during 1782 and completed to this design, although none were ready to take part in the American War of Independence. Most were not brought into service until the outbreak of the French Revolutionary War, and survived to serve the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic War.

Ships in class

• Woolwich
  • Builder: Thomas Calhoun & John Nowlan, Bursledon
    Bursledon
    Bursledon is a village on the River Hamble in Hampshire, England. It is located within the borough of Eastleigh. Close to the city of Southampton, Bursledon has a railway station, a marina, dockyards and the Bursledon Windmill. Nearby villages include Swanwick, Hamble-le-Rice, Netley and Sarisbury...
    
    
  • Ordered: 5 March 1782
  • Laid down: January 1783
  • Launched: 15 December 1785
  • Completed: 1786 at Portsmouth Dockyard
  • Fate: Wrecked off Barbuda
    Barbuda
    Barbuda is an island in the Eastern Caribbean, and forms part of the state of Antigua and Barbuda. It has a population of about 1,500, most of whom live in the town of Codrington.-Location:...
    
     on 11 September 1813.
• Severn
  • Builder: James Martin Hillhouse, Bristol
    Bristol
    Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
    
    
  • Ordered: 17 April 1782
  • Laid down: June 1783
  • Launched: 29 April 1786
  • Completed: 17 July 1793 at Plymouth Dockyard
  • Fate: Wrecked off Jersey on 21 December 1804
• Sheerness
  • Builder: Henry Adams, Bucklers Hard
    Bucklers Hard
    Bucklers Hard is a hamlet situated on the banks of the Beaulieu River in the English county of Hampshire.- Overview :With its Georgian cottages running down to the river, Bucklers Hard is part of the 9,000 acre Beaulieu Estate...
    
    
  • Ordered: 26 April 1782
  • Laid down: December 1783
  • Launched: 16 July 1787
  • Completed: 20 December 1787 at Portsmouth Dockyard
  • Fate: Wrecked off Trincomalee
    Trincomalee
    Trincomalee is a port city in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka and lies on the east coast of the island, about 113 miles south of Jaffna. It has a population of approximately 100,000 . The city is built on a peninsula, which divides the inner and outer harbours. Overlooking the Kottiyar Bay,...
    
     on 8 January 1805
• Chichester
  • Builder: Crookenden, Taylor & Smith, Itchenor
  • Ordered: 13 May 1782
  • Laid down: August 1782
  • Launched: 10 March 1785
  • Completed: 28 October 1787 at Portsmouth Dockyard
  • Fate: Broken up in July 1815
• Adventure
  • Builder: Perry & Hankey, Blackwall Yard
    Blackwall Yard
    Blackwall Yard was a shipyard on the Thames at Blackwall, London, engaged in ship building and later ship repairs for over 350 years. The yard closed in 1987...
    
    
  • Ordered: 5 June 1782
  • Laid down: October 1782
  • Launched: 19 July 1784
  • Completed: 28 October 1784 at Woolwich Dockyard
    Woolwich Dockyard
    Woolwich Dockyard was an English naval dockyard founded by King Henry VIII in 1512 to build his flagship Henri Grâce à Dieu , the largest ship of its day....
    
    
  • Fate: Broken up in September 1816
• Expedition
  • Builder: John Randall, Rotherhithe
    Rotherhithe
    Rotherhithe is a residential district in inner southeast London, England and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is located on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping and the Isle of Dogs on the north bank, and is a part of the Docklands area...
    
    
  • Ordered: 5 June 1782
  • Laid down: October 1783
  • Launched: 29 October 1784
  • Completed: March 1786 at Deptford Dockyard
  • Fate: Broken up in February 1817
• Gorgon
  • Builder: Perry & Hankey, Blackwall Yard
    Blackwall Yard
    Blackwall Yard was a shipyard on the Thames at Blackwall, London, engaged in ship building and later ship repairs for over 350 years. The yard closed in 1987...
    
    
  • Ordered: 19 June 1782
  • Laid down: December 1782
  • Launched: 27 January 1785
  • Completed: 15 December 1787 at Portsmouth Dockyard
  • Fate: Broken up in February 1817
• Dover
  • Builder: George Parsons, Bursledon
    Bursledon
    Bursledon is a village on the River Hamble in Hampshire, England. It is located within the borough of Eastleigh. Close to the city of Southampton, Bursledon has a railway station, a marina, dockyards and the Bursledon Windmill. Nearby villages include Swanwick, Hamble-le-Rice, Netley and Sarisbury...
    
    
  • Ordered: 8 July 1782
  • Laid down: August 1783
  • Launched: May 1786
  • Completed: 1787 at Portsmouth Dockyard
  • Fate: Burnt by accident 20 August 1806