Frigate
Encyclopedia
A frigate is any of several types of warship
, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.
In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built". These could be warships carrying their principal battery of carriage-mounted guns
on a single deck
or on two decks (with further smaller carriage-mounted guns usually carried on the forecastle and quarterdeck of the vessel). The term was generally used for ships too small to stand in the line of battle
, although early line-of-battle ships were frequently referred to as frigates when they were built for speed.
In the 18th century, the term referred to ships which were usually as long as a ship-of-the-line and were square-rigged
on all three masts (full rigged), but were faster and with lighter armament, used for patrolling and escort. In the definition adopted by the British Admiralty, they were rated ships
of at least 28 guns, carrying their principal armament upon a single continuous deck—the upper deck, while ships-of-the-line possessed two or more continuous decks bearing batteries of guns.
Frigates did not carry any guns (or have any gunports) on their lower decks; confusingly, the lower deck was often referred to as the "gun deck" in the Royal Navy
(in the US Navy, it was usually called the "berth deck"), even for frigates, where it did not carry any guns or have gunports. Both types could (and usually did) additionally carry smaller carriage-mounted guns on their quarter decks and forecastle
s (the superstructures above the upper deck). Technically, rated ships with fewer than 28 guns could not be classed as frigates but as "post ship
s"; however, in common parlance most post ships were often described as "frigates", the same casual misuse of the term being extended to smaller two-decked ships that were too small to stand in the line of battle.
In the late 19th century (beginning about 1858 with the construction of prototypes by the British and French navies), the armoured frigate was a type of ironclad warship
and for a time was the most powerful type of vessel afloat. The term "frigate" was used because such ships still mounted their principal armament on a single continuous upper deck. The later 19th century battleship
thus developed from the frigate rather than from the ship of the line
.
In modern navies, frigates are used to protect other warships and merchant-marine ships, especially as anti-submarine warfare
(ASW) combatants for amphibious expeditionary forces, underway replenishment groups, and merchant convoy
s. Ship classes dubbed "frigates" have also more closely resembled corvette
s, destroyer
s, cruiser
s and even battleship
s.
The rank "frigate captain
" derives from the name of this type of ship.
The term "frigate" (Italian: fregata; Spanish/Catalan/Portuguese/Sicilian: fragata; Dutch: fregat) originated in the Mediterranean in the late 15th century, referring to a lighter galleass
type ship with oars, sails and a light armament, built for speed and maneuverability.
In 1583, during the Eighty Years' War, Habsburg Spain
recovered the Southern Netherlands
from the rebellious Dutch. This soon led to the occupied ports being used as bases for privateers, the Dunkirkers, to attack the shipping of the Dutch and their allies. To achieve this they developed small, maneuverable, sail-only vessels that came to be referred to as frigates. The success of these Dunkirker vessels influenced the ship design of the Dutch and other navies contending with them but because most regular navies required ships of greater endurance than the Dunkirker frigates could provide, the term was soon applied less exclusively to any relatively fast and elegant sail-only war ship. Even the mighty English was described as 'a delicate frigate' after modifications in 1651.
The navy of the Dutch Republic
was the first navy to build the larger ocean-going frigates. The Dutch navy had three principal tasks in the struggle against Spain: to protect Dutch merchant ships at sea, to blockade the ports of Spanish-held Flanders
to damage trade and halt enemy privateering, and to fight the Spanish fleet and prevent troop landings. The first two tasks required speed, shallowness of draft for the shallow waters around the Netherlands, and the ability to carry sufficient supplies to maintain a blockade. The third task required heavy armament, sufficient to fight against the Spanish fleet. The first of these larger battle-capable frigates were built around 1600 at Hoorn
in Holland. By the later stages of the Eighty Years War the Dutch had switched entirely from the heavier ships still used by the English and Spanish to the lighter frigates, carrying around 40 guns and weighing around 300 tons.
The effectiveness of the Dutch frigates became most visible in the Battle of the Downs
in 1639, encouraging most other navies, especially the English, to adopt similar designs.
The fleets built by the Commonwealth of England
in the 1650s generally consisted of ships described as "frigates", the largest of which were two-decker 'great frigates' of the third rate. Carrying 60 guns, these vessels were as big and capable as 'great ships' of the time; however, most other frigates at the time were used as 'cruiser
s': independent fast ships. The term "frigate" implied a long hull design, which relates directly to speed (see hull speed
) and also, in turn, helped the development of the broadside
tactic in naval warfare.
At this time a further design evolved, reintroducing oars to create the galley frigate such as the Charles Galley of 1676
which was rated as a 32-gun fifth rate but also had a bank of 40 oars set below the upper deck which could be used to propel the ship in the absence of a favourable wind.
In French, the term "frigate" became a verb, meaning 'to build long and low', and an adjective, adding further confusion.
In Danish, the word "fregat" is often applied to warships carrying as few as 16 guns,such as HMS Falcon (1802)
which the British classified as a sloop.
Under the rating system of the Royal Navy
, by the middle of the 18th century, the term "frigate" was technically restricted to single-decked ships of the fifth rate, though small 28-gun frigates were classed as sixth rate.
The classic sailing frigate, well-known today for its role in the Napoleonic wars
, can be traced back to French developments in the second quarter of the 18th century. The French-built Médée of 1740 is often regarded as the first example of this type. These ships were square-rigged and carried all their main guns on a single continuous upper deck. The lower deck, known as the "gun deck", now carried no armament, and functioned as a "berth deck" where the crew lived, and was in fact placed below the waterline of the new frigates.
The new sailing frigates were able to fight with all their guns when the seas were so rough that comparable two-deckers had to close the gun-ports on their lower decks (see the Action of 13 January 1797
, for an example when this was decisive). Like the larger 74 which was developed at the same time, the new frigates sailed very well and were good fighting vessels due to a combination of long hulls and low upperworks compared to vessels of comparable size and firepower.
The Royal Navy
captured a handful of the new French frigates during the War of the Austrian Succession
(1740–1748) and were impressed by them, particularly for their inshore handling capabilities. They soon built copies and started to adapt the type to their own needs, setting the standard for other frigates as a superpower. The first British frigates carried 28 guns including an upper deck battery of twenty-four 9-pounder guns (the remaining four smaller guns were carried on the quarter deck) but soon developed into fifth-rate ships of 32 or 36 guns including an upper deck battery of twenty-six 12-pounder guns (with the remaining six or ten smaller guns carried on the quarter deck and forecastle). From around 1778, a larger "heavy" frigate was developed with a main battery of twenty-six or twenty-eight 18-pounder guns (again with the remaining ten smaller guns carried on the quarter deck and forecastle).
Royal Navy frigates of the late 18th century included the 1780-vintage Perseverance class, which measured around 900 tons burthen
and carried 36 guns; this successful class was followed by numerous other classes that measured over 1,000 tons burthen and carried 38 guns.
In 1797, three of the US Navy's first six major ships were rated as 44-gun frigates (or "super-frigates"), which operationally carried fifty-six to sixty 24-pounder long guns and 36-pounder or 48-pounder carronade
s on two decks; by all regards they were exceptionally powerful and tough. These ships were so well-armed that they were often regarded as equal to ships of the line, and after a series of losses at the outbreak of the War of 1812
, Royal Navy fighting instructions ordered British frigates (usually of 38 guns or less) to never engage American frigates at any less than a 2:1 advantage. , preserved as a museum ship
by the US Navy, is the oldest commissioned frigate afloat, and is a surviving example of a frigate from the Age of Sail
. Constitution and her two sister ships (USS President
and USS United States
) were created in a response to deal with the Barbary Coast pirates and in conjunction with the Naval Act of 1794
. The three big frigates, when built, had a distinctive building pattern which minimised "hogging" (in which the centre of the keel rises while both ends drop) and improves hydrodynamic efficiency.
The hull was designed so that all the weight from the guns was upon the keel itself. Joshua Humphreys
proposed that only live oak
, a tree that grew only in America, should be used to build these ships. The method was to use diagonal riders, eight on each side that sat a 45 degree angle. These beams of live oak were about two feet wide and around a foot thick and helped to maintain the shape of the hull, serving also to reduce flexibility and to minimize impacts. These ideas were considered revolutionary in the late 18th and early 19th century. A three-layer method was used in which the planks along the sides of the hull were laid horizontally across the ribs, making a crossing or checker board pattern. The sides of the ship could be as thick as 25 inches, and were able to absorb substantial damage. The strength of this braced construction earned USS Constitution the nickname "Old Ironsides".
Frigates were perhaps the hardest-worked of warship types during the Age of Sail
. While smaller than a ship-of-the-line, they were formidable opponents for the large numbers of sloop
s and gunboat
s, not to mention privateer
s or merchantmen. Able to carry six months' stores, they had very long range; and vessels larger than frigates were considered too valuable to operate independently.
Frigates scouted for the fleet, went on commerce-raiding missions and patrols, conveyed messages and dignitaries. Usually frigates would fight in small numbers or singly against other frigates. They would avoid contact with ships-of-the-line; even in the midst of a fleet engagement it was bad etiquette for a ship of the line to fire on an enemy frigate which had not fired first. Frigates were involved in fleet battles, often as 'repeating frigates'. In the smoke and confusion of battle, signals
made by the fleet commander, whose flagship
might be in the thick of the fighting, might be missed by the other ships of the fleet. Frigates were therefore stationed to windward or leeward of the main line of battle
, and had to maintain a clear line of sight to the commander's flagship. Signals from the flagship were then repeated by the frigates, which themselves standing out of the line and clear from the smoke and disorder of battle, could be more easily seen by the other ships of the fleet. If damage or loss of masts prevented the flagship from making clear conventional signals, the repeating frigates could interpret them and hoist their own in the correct manner, passing on the commander's instructions clearly.
For officers in the Royal Navy a frigate was a desirable posting. Frigates often saw action, which meant a greater chance of glory, promotion, and prize money
.
Unlike larger ships that were placed in ordinary
, frigates were kept in service in peacetime as a cost-saving measure and to provide experience to frigate captains and officers which would be useful in wartime. Frigates could also carry marines for boarding enemy ships or for operations on shore.
Common armament was one gundeck with 32 to 44 long guns, from 8- to 24-pounders (3.6 to 11 kg), plus a few carronade
s (large bore short-range guns).
Frigates remained a crucial element of navies until the mid-19th century. The first ironclads were classified as "frigates" because of the number of guns they carried. However, terminology changed as iron and steam became the norm, and the role of the frigate was assumed first by the protected cruiser
and then by the light cruiser
.
Frigates are often the vessel of choice in historical naval novels due to their relative freedom compared to ships of the line (kept for fleet actions) and smaller vessels (generally assigned to a home port and less widely ranging). For example the Patrick O'Brian
Aubrey–Maturin series
, C. S. Forester
's Horatio Hornblower
series and Alexander Kent
's Richard Bolitho
series. The motion picture Master and Commander
features a reconstructed historic frigate, HMS Rose, to depict Aubrey's frigate HMS Surprise.
Vessels classed as frigates continued to play a great role in navies with the adoption of steam power in the 19th century. In the 1830s navies experimented with large paddle steamer
s equipped with large guns mounted on one deck, which were termed "paddle frigates".
From the mid-1840s frigates which more closely resembled the traditional sailing frigate were built with steam engines and screw propeller
s. These "screw frigate
s", built first of wood and later of iron
, continued to perform the traditional role of the frigate until late in the 19th century.
designs. The additional weight of the armour on these first ironclad warship
s meant that they could have only one gun deck, and they were technically frigates, even though they were more powerful than existing ships-of-the-line and occupied the same strategic role. The phrase "armoured frigate" remained in use for some time to denote a sail-equipped, broadside-firing type of ironclad.
Towards the end of the 19th century, the term "frigate" fell out of use. Vessels with armoured sides were designated as "battleship
s" or "armoured cruisers", while "protected cruiser
s" only possessed an armoured deck, and unarmoured vessels, including frigates and sloops, were classified as "unprotected cruisers".
Modern frigates are related to earlier frigates only by name. The term "frigate" was readopted during World War II
by the Royal Navy
to describe a new type of anti-submarine escort vessel that was larger than a corvette
, but smaller than a destroyer
. The frigate was introduced to remedy some of the shortcomings inherent in the corvette design: limited armament, a hull form not suited to open-ocean work, a single shaft
which limited speed and maneuverability, and a lack of range.
The frigate was designed and built to the same mercantile construction standards (scantling
s) as the corvette, allowing manufacture by yards unused to warship construction. The first frigates of the River class
(1941) were essentially two sets of corvette machinery in one larger hull, armed with the latest Hedgehog
anti-submarine weapon.
The frigate possessed less offensive firepower and speed than a destroyer
, but such qualities were not required for anti-submarine warfare. Submarines were slow, and ASDIC sets did not operate effectively at speeds of over 20 knots. Rather, the frigate was an austere and weatherly vessel suitable for mass-construction and fitted with the latest innovations in anti-submarine warfare. As the frigate was intended purely for convoy duties, and not to deploy with the fleet, it had limited range and speed.
The contemporaneous German
Flottenbegleiter
("fleet escorts"), also known as "F-Boats" were essentially frigates. They were based on a pre-war Oberkommando der Marine
concept of vessels which could fill roles such as fast minesweeper, minelayer, merchant escort and anti-submarine vessel. Because of the Treaty of Versailles
their displacement was officially limited to 600 tons, although in reality they exceeded this by about 100 tons. F-boats had two stacks and two 105 mm gun turrets. The design was flawed because of its narrow beam, sharp bow and unreliable high pressure steam turbines. F-boats were succeeded in operational duties by Type 35
and Elbing-class
torpedo boats. Flottenbegleiter remained in service as advanced training vessels.
It was not until the Royal Navy's Bay class
of 1944 that a British design bearing the name of frigate was produced for fleet use, although it still suffered from limited speed. These anti-aircraft frigates, built on incomplete Loch-class frigate
hulls, were similar to the United States Navy
's destroyer escort
s (DE), although the latter had greater speed and offensive armament to better suit them to fleet deployments. The destroyer escorts came from a British commission, initiated prior to the US entry into the war, for deep water escorts. The American DEs serving in the British
Royal Navy
were rated as frigates
, and British-influenced Tacoma-class
frigates serving in the USN were classed as patrol frigates (PF).
The introduction of the surface-to-air missile
after the Second World War made relatively small ships effective for anti-aircraft warfare: the "guided missile frigate." In the USN, these vessels were called "ocean escort
s" and designated
"DE" or "DEG" until 1975 - a holdover from the World War II destroyer escort
or "DE". The British Royal Navy
maintained the use of the term "frigate"; likewise, the French Navy refers to missile-equipped ship, up to cruiser-sized ships, by the name of "frigate", while smaller units are named aviso
. Soviet Navy used the term "guard-ship" (сторожевой корабль).
From the 1950s to the 1970s, the United States Navy commissioned ships classed as guided missile frigates which were actually anti-aircraft warfare cruiser
s built on destroyer
-style hulls. Some of these ships—the Bainbridge
, Truxtun
, California
and Virginia
classes—were nuclear-powered
. These were larger than any previous frigates and the use of the term '"frigate"' here is much more analogous to its original use. All such ships were reclassified as guided missile cruisers (CG/CGN) or, in the case of the smaller Farragut class
, as guided missile destroyer
s (DDG) in 1975. The last of these particular frigates were struck from the Naval Vessel Register
in the 1990s.
One of the most successful post-1945 designs was the British Leander-class frigate
, which was used by several navies. Laid down in 1959, the Leanders were based on the previous Type 12 anti-submarine frigate
but equipped for anti-aircraft use as well. They were used by the UK into the 1990s, at which point some were sold onto other navies. The Leander design, or improved versions of it, were licence-built for other navies.
Nearly all modern frigates are equipped with some form of offensive or defensive missiles, and as such are rated as guided-missile frigates (FFG). Improvements in surface-to-air missiles (e.g., the Eurosam
Aster 15
) allow modern guided-missile frigates to form the core of many modern navies and to be used as a fleet defence platform, without the need for specialised anti-air warfare frigates.
were "air direction"
frigates equipped to track aircraft. To this end they had reduced armament compared to the Type 41 Leopard-class
air-defence frigates built on the same hull.
Multi-role frigates like MEKO 200
, Anzac class frigate
and Halifax class frigate
are designed for navies needing warships deployed in a variety of situations that a general frigate class would not be able to fulfill and not requiring the need for deploying Destroyers.
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At the opposite end of the spectrum, some frigates are specialised for anti-submarine warfare
. Increasing submarine speeds towards the end of the Second World War (see German Type XXI submarine
) greatly reduced the margin of speed superiority of frigate over submarine. The frigate could no longer be slow and powered by mercantile machinery and consequently postwar frigates, such as the Whitby class
, were faster.
Such ships carry improved sonar
equipment, such as the variable depth sonar or towed array
, and specialised weapons such as torpedo
es, forward-throwing weapons such as Limbo
and missile-carried anti-submarine torpedoes such as ASROC
or Ikara
. Surface-to-air missiles such as Sea Sparrow and surface-to-surface missiles such as Exocet
give them defensive and offensive capabilities. The Royal Navy's original Type 22 frigate
is an example of a specialised anti-submarine warfare frigate.
Especially for anti-submarine warfare, most modern frigates have a landing deck
and hangar
aft to operate helicopter
s, eliminating the need for the frigate to close with unknown sub-surface threats, and using fast helicopters to attack nuclear submarines which may be faster than surface warships. For this task the helicopter is equipped with sensors such as sonobuoy
s, wire-mounted dipping sonar and magnetic anomaly detector
s to identify possible threats, and torpedoes or depth-charges to attack them.
With their onboard radar helicopters can also be used to reconnoitre over-the-horizon targets and, if equipped with anti-ship missile
s such as Penguin
or Sea Skua
, to attack them. The helicopter is also invaluable for search and rescue
operation and has largely replaced the use of small boats
or the jackstay rig
for such duties as transferring personnel, mail and cargo between ships or to shore. With helicopters these tasks can be accomplished faster and less dangerously, and without the need for the frigate to slow down or change course.
Stealth technology
has been introduced in modern frigate design. Frigate shapes are designed to offer a minimal radar cross section
, which also lends them good air penetration; the maneuverability of these frigates has been compared to that of sailing ships. Examples are the French La Fayette class
with the Aster 15 missile for anti-missile capabilities, the German
F125 class and Sachsen-class frigates
and the Turkish
TF-2000 type frigates with the MK-41 VLS.
The modern French Navy
applies the term first-class frigate and second-class frigate to both destroyers and frigates in service. Pennant numbers remain divided between F-series numbers for those ships internationally recognised as frigates and D-series pennant numbers for those more traditionally recognised as destroyers. This can result in some confusion as certain classes are referred to as frigates in French service while similar ships in other navies are referred to as destroyers. This also results in some recent classes of French ships being among the largest in the world to carry the rating of frigate.
In the German Navy
frigates were used to replace aging destroyers; however in size and role the new German frigates exceed the former class of destroyers. The future German F125-class frigate
will be the largest class of frigates worldwide with a displacement of more than 7,200 tons. The same was done in the Spanish Navy
, which went ahead with the deployment of the first Aegis
frigates, the F100
class frigates.
Some new classes of ships similar to corvettes are optimised for high-speed deployment and combat with small craft rather than combat between equal opponents; an example is the U.S. Littoral Combat Ship
.
Warship
A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way from merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuvrable than merchant ships...
, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.
In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built". These could be warships carrying their principal battery of carriage-mounted guns
Naval artillery
Naval artillery, or naval riflery, is artillery mounted on a warship for use in naval warfare. Naval artillery has historically been used to engage either other ships, or targets on land; in the latter role it is currently termed naval gunfire fire support...
on a single deck
Deck (ship)
A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a ship. On a boat or ship, the primary deck is the horizontal structure which forms the 'roof' for the hull, which both strengthens the hull and serves as the primary working surface...
or on two decks (with further smaller carriage-mounted guns usually carried on the forecastle and quarterdeck of the vessel). The term was generally used for ships too small to stand in the line of battle
Line of battle
In naval warfare, the line of battle is a tactic in which the ships of the fleet form a line end to end. A primitive form had been used by the Portuguese under Vasco Da Gama in 1502 near Malabar against a Muslim fleet.,Maarten Tromp used it in the Action of 18 September 1639 while its first use in...
, although early line-of-battle ships were frequently referred to as frigates when they were built for speed.
In the 18th century, the term referred to ships which were usually as long as a ship-of-the-line and were square-rigged
Square rig
Square rig is a generic type of sail and rigging arrangement in which the primary driving sails are carried on horizontal spars which are perpendicular, or square, to the keel of the vessel and to the masts. These spars are called yards and their tips, beyond the last stay, are called the yardarms...
on all three masts (full rigged), but were faster and with lighter armament, used for patrolling and escort. In the definition adopted by the British Admiralty, they were rated ships
Rating system of the Royal Navy
The rating system of the Royal Navy and its predecessors was used by the British Royal Navy between the beginning of the 17th century and the middle of the 19th century to categorise sailing warships, initially classing them according to their assigned complement of men, and later according to the...
of at least 28 guns, carrying their principal armament upon a single continuous deck—the upper deck, while ships-of-the-line possessed two or more continuous decks bearing batteries of guns.
Frigates did not carry any guns (or have any gunports) on their lower decks; confusingly, the lower deck was often referred to as the "gun deck" in 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...
(in the US Navy, it was usually called the "berth deck"), even for frigates, where it did not carry any guns or have gunports. Both types could (and usually did) additionally carry smaller carriage-mounted guns on their quarter decks and forecastle
Forecastle
Forecastle refers to the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters...
s (the superstructures above the upper deck). Technically, rated ships with fewer than 28 guns could not be classed as frigates but as "post ship
Post ship
Post ship was a designation used in the Royal Navy during the Age of Sail to describe a ship of the sixth-rate that was smaller than a frigate , but by virtue of being a rated ship , had to have as its captain a post captain rather than a lieutenant or commander...
s"; however, in common parlance most post ships were often described as "frigates", the same casual misuse of the term being extended to smaller two-decked ships that were too small to stand in the line of battle.
In the late 19th century (beginning about 1858 with the construction of prototypes by the British and French navies), the armoured frigate was a type of ironclad warship
Ironclad warship
An ironclad was a steam-propelled warship in the early part of the second half of the 19th century, protected by iron or steel armor plates. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shells. The first ironclad battleship, La Gloire,...
and for a time was the most powerful type of vessel afloat. The term "frigate" was used because such ships still mounted their principal armament on a single continuous upper deck. The later 19th century battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
thus developed from the frigate rather than from the ship of the line
Ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
.
In modern navies, frigates are used to protect other warships and merchant-marine ships, especially as anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
(ASW) combatants for amphibious expeditionary forces, underway replenishment groups, and merchant convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
s. Ship classes dubbed "frigates" have also more closely resembled corvette
Corvette
A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...
s, destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s, cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
s and even battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s.
The rank "frigate captain
Frigate Captain
Frigate captain is a naval rank in the naval forces of several countries.It is, usually, equivalent to the Commonwealth/US Navy rank of commander.Countries using this rank include Argentina and Spain , France , Belgium , Italy ,...
" derives from the name of this type of ship.
Origins
Galleass
The galleass developed from large merchant galleys.Converted for military use they were higher and larger than regular galleys. They had up to 32 oars, each worked by up to 5 men. They usually had three masts and a forecastle and aftcastle. Much effort was made in Venice to make these galleasses...
type ship with oars, sails and a light armament, built for speed and maneuverability.
In 1583, during the Eighty Years' War, Habsburg Spain
Habsburg Spain
Habsburg Spain refers to the history of Spain over the 16th and 17th centuries , when Spain was ruled by the major branch of the Habsburg dynasty...
recovered the Southern Netherlands
Southern Netherlands
Southern Netherlands were a part of the Low Countries controlled by Spain , Austria and annexed by France...
from the rebellious Dutch. This soon led to the occupied ports being used as bases for privateers, the Dunkirkers, to attack the shipping of the Dutch and their allies. To achieve this they developed small, maneuverable, sail-only vessels that came to be referred to as frigates. The success of these Dunkirker vessels influenced the ship design of the Dutch and other navies contending with them but because most regular navies required ships of greater endurance than the Dunkirker frigates could provide, the term was soon applied less exclusively to any relatively fast and elegant sail-only war ship. Even the mighty English was described as 'a delicate frigate' after modifications in 1651.
The navy of the Dutch Republic
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
was the first navy to build the larger ocean-going frigates. The Dutch navy had three principal tasks in the struggle against Spain: to protect Dutch merchant ships at sea, to blockade the ports of Spanish-held Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
to damage trade and halt enemy privateering, and to fight the Spanish fleet and prevent troop landings. The first two tasks required speed, shallowness of draft for the shallow waters around the Netherlands, and the ability to carry sufficient supplies to maintain a blockade. The third task required heavy armament, sufficient to fight against the Spanish fleet. The first of these larger battle-capable frigates were built around 1600 at Hoorn
Hoorn
-Cities :* Purmerend * Enkhuizen * Alkmaar * Amsterdam * Lelystad * Den Helder * Leeuwarden -Towns :* Edam...
in Holland. By the later stages of the Eighty Years War the Dutch had switched entirely from the heavier ships still used by the English and Spanish to the lighter frigates, carrying around 40 guns and weighing around 300 tons.
The effectiveness of the Dutch frigates became most visible in the Battle of the Downs
Battle of the Downs
The naval Battle of the Downs took place on 31 October 1639 , during the Eighty Years' War, and was a decisive defeat of the Spanish, commanded by Admiral Antonio de Oquendo, by the United Provinces, commanded by Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp.- Background :The entry of France in the Thirty...
in 1639, encouraging most other navies, especially the English, to adopt similar designs.
The fleets built by the Commonwealth of England
Commonwealth of England
The Commonwealth of England was the republic which ruled first England, and then Ireland and Scotland from 1649 to 1660. Between 1653–1659 it was known as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland...
in the 1650s generally consisted of ships described as "frigates", the largest of which were two-decker 'great frigates' of the third rate. Carrying 60 guns, these vessels were as big and capable as 'great ships' of the time; however, most other frigates at the time were used as 'cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
s': independent fast ships. The term "frigate" implied a long hull design, which relates directly to speed (see hull speed
Hull speed
Hull speed, sometimes referred to as displacement speed, is the speed of a boat at which the bow and stern waves interfere constructively, creating relatively large waves, and thus a relatively large value of wave drag...
) and also, in turn, helped the development of the broadside
Broadside
A broadside is the side of a ship; the battery of cannon on one side of a warship; or their simultaneous fire in naval warfare.-Age of Sail:...
tactic in naval warfare.
At this time a further design evolved, reintroducing oars to create the galley frigate such as the Charles Galley of 1676
HMS Charles Galley (1676)
HMS Charles Galley was a 32–gun fifth rate of the Royal Navy built at Woolwich Dockyard and launched in 1676. She was rebuilt in 1693, and again at Deptford Dockyard in 1710. She was renamed HMS Torrington after a third rebuild in 1729, and was Hulked in 1740. She was finally sold on 12 July...
which was rated as a 32-gun fifth rate but also had a bank of 40 oars set below the upper deck which could be used to propel the ship in the absence of a favourable wind.
In French, the term "frigate" became a verb, meaning 'to build long and low', and an adjective, adding further confusion.
In Danish, the word "fregat" is often applied to warships carrying as few as 16 guns,such as HMS Falcon (1802)
HMS FALCON (1802)
Launched in 1801 as Diadem, the Whitby-built vessel was renamed HMS Falcon on purchase in 1802 to avoid confusion with the pre-existing third rate . Falcon was a sloop with an armament of fourteen 24-pounders on her main gundeck and two 18-pounders on the quarterdeck, a crew of 75, and a burthen ...
which the British classified as a sloop.
Under the rating system of the Royal Navy
Rating system of the Royal Navy
The rating system of the Royal Navy and its predecessors was used by the British Royal Navy between the beginning of the 17th century and the middle of the 19th century to categorise sailing warships, initially classing them according to their assigned complement of men, and later according to the...
, by the middle of the 18th century, the term "frigate" was technically restricted to single-decked ships of the fifth rate, though small 28-gun frigates were classed as sixth rate.
Classic design
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, can be traced back to French developments in the second quarter of the 18th century. The French-built Médée of 1740 is often regarded as the first example of this type. These ships were square-rigged and carried all their main guns on a single continuous upper deck. The lower deck, known as the "gun deck", now carried no armament, and functioned as a "berth deck" where the crew lived, and was in fact placed below the waterline of the new frigates.
The new sailing frigates were able to fight with all their guns when the seas were so rough that comparable two-deckers had to close the gun-ports on their lower decks (see the Action of 13 January 1797
Action of 13 January 1797
The Action of 13 January 1797 was a small naval battle fought between a French ship of the line and two British frigates off the coast of Brittany during the French Revolutionary Wars. During the action the frigates successfully outmanoeuvred the much larger French vessel and drove it on shore in...
, for an example when this was decisive). Like the larger 74 which was developed at the same time, the new frigates sailed very well and were good fighting vessels due to a combination of long hulls and low upperworks compared to vessels of comparable size and firepower.
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...
captured a handful of the new French frigates during the War of the Austrian Succession
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...
(1740–1748) and were impressed by them, particularly for their inshore handling capabilities. They soon built copies and started to adapt the type to their own needs, setting the standard for other frigates as a superpower. The first British frigates carried 28 guns including an upper deck battery of twenty-four 9-pounder guns (the remaining four smaller guns were carried on the quarter deck) but soon developed into fifth-rate ships of 32 or 36 guns including an upper deck battery of twenty-six 12-pounder guns (with the remaining six or ten smaller guns carried on the quarter deck and forecastle). From around 1778, a larger "heavy" frigate was developed with a main battery of twenty-six or twenty-eight 18-pounder guns (again with the remaining ten smaller guns carried on the quarter deck and forecastle).
Royal Navy frigates of the late 18th century included the 1780-vintage Perseverance class, which measured around 900 tons burthen
Builder's Old Measurement
Builder's Old Measurement is the method of calculating the size or cargo capacity of a ship used in England from approximately 1720 to 1849. It estimated the tonnage of a ship based on length and maximum beam...
and carried 36 guns; this successful class was followed by numerous other classes that measured over 1,000 tons burthen and carried 38 guns.
In 1797, three of the US Navy's first six major ships were rated as 44-gun frigates (or "super-frigates"), which operationally carried fifty-six to sixty 24-pounder long guns and 36-pounder or 48-pounder carronade
Carronade
The carronade was a short smoothbore, cast iron cannon, developed for the Royal Navy by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, UK. It was used from the 1770s to the 1850s. Its main function was to serve as a powerful, short-range anti-ship and anti-crew weapon...
s on two decks; by all regards they were exceptionally powerful and tough. These ships were so well-armed that they were often regarded as equal to ships of the line, and after a series of losses at the outbreak of the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, Royal Navy fighting instructions ordered British frigates (usually of 38 guns or less) to never engage American frigates at any less than a 2:1 advantage. , preserved as a museum ship
Museum ship
A museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes...
by the US Navy, is the oldest commissioned frigate afloat, and is a surviving example of a frigate from the Age of Sail
Age of Sail
The Age of Sail was the period in which international trade and naval warfare were dominated by sailing ships, lasting from the 16th to the mid 19th century...
. Constitution and her two sister ships (USS President
USS President (1800)
USS President was a nominally rated 44-gun wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. She was named by George Washington to reflect a principle of the United States Constitution. Forman Cheeseman was in charge of her construction, and she was launched in April 1800 from a...
and USS United States
USS United States (1797)
USS United States was a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy and the first of the six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794...
) were created in a response to deal with the Barbary Coast pirates and in conjunction with the Naval Act of 1794
Naval Act of 1794
The Act to Provide a Naval Armament, also known as the Naval Act, was passed by the United States Congress on March 27, 1794 and established the country's first naval force, which eventually became the United States Navy...
. The three big frigates, when built, had a distinctive building pattern which minimised "hogging" (in which the centre of the keel rises while both ends drop) and improves hydrodynamic efficiency.
The hull was designed so that all the weight from the guns was upon the keel itself. Joshua Humphreys
Joshua Humphreys
Joshua Humphreys was an influential and successful ship builder in the United States.Humphreys was born in Haverford, Pennsylvania and died in the same place. He is the son of Daniel Humphreys and Hannah Wynne . He was brother to Charles Humphreys...
proposed that only live oak
Live oak
Live oak , also known as the southern live oak, is a normally evergreen oak tree native to the southeastern United States...
, a tree that grew only in America, should be used to build these ships. The method was to use diagonal riders, eight on each side that sat a 45 degree angle. These beams of live oak were about two feet wide and around a foot thick and helped to maintain the shape of the hull, serving also to reduce flexibility and to minimize impacts. These ideas were considered revolutionary in the late 18th and early 19th century. A three-layer method was used in which the planks along the sides of the hull were laid horizontally across the ribs, making a crossing or checker board pattern. The sides of the ship could be as thick as 25 inches, and were able to absorb substantial damage. The strength of this braced construction earned USS Constitution the nickname "Old Ironsides".
Role
Age of Sail
The Age of Sail was the period in which international trade and naval warfare were dominated by sailing ships, lasting from the 16th to the mid 19th century...
. While smaller than a ship-of-the-line, they were formidable opponents for the large numbers of sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
s and gunboat
Gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...
s, not to mention privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
s or merchantmen. Able to carry six months' stores, they had very long range; and vessels larger than frigates were considered too valuable to operate independently.
Frigates scouted for the fleet, went on commerce-raiding missions and patrols, conveyed messages and dignitaries. Usually frigates would fight in small numbers or singly against other frigates. They would avoid contact with ships-of-the-line; even in the midst of a fleet engagement it was bad etiquette for a ship of the line to fire on an enemy frigate which had not fired first. Frigates were involved in fleet battles, often as 'repeating frigates'. In the smoke and confusion of battle, signals
Naval flag signalling
Naval flag signalling covers various forms of flag signalling, such as semaphore or flaghoist, used by various navies; distinguished from maritime flag signalling by merchant or other non-naval vessels or flags used for identification.-History:...
made by the fleet commander, whose flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
might be in the thick of the fighting, might be missed by the other ships of the fleet. Frigates were therefore stationed to windward or leeward of the main line of battle
Line of battle
In naval warfare, the line of battle is a tactic in which the ships of the fleet form a line end to end. A primitive form had been used by the Portuguese under Vasco Da Gama in 1502 near Malabar against a Muslim fleet.,Maarten Tromp used it in the Action of 18 September 1639 while its first use in...
, and had to maintain a clear line of sight to the commander's flagship. Signals from the flagship were then repeated by the frigates, which themselves standing out of the line and clear from the smoke and disorder of battle, could be more easily seen by the other ships of the fleet. If damage or loss of masts prevented the flagship from making clear conventional signals, the repeating frigates could interpret them and hoist their own in the correct manner, passing on the commander's instructions clearly.
For officers in the Royal Navy a frigate was a desirable posting. Frigates often saw action, which meant a greater chance of glory, promotion, and prize money
Prize money
Prize money has a distinct meaning in warfare, especially naval warfare, where it was a monetary reward paid out to the crew of a ship for capturing an enemy vessel...
.
Unlike larger ships that were placed in ordinary
Reserve fleet
A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed, and thus partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; an equivalent expression in unofficial modern U.S....
, frigates were kept in service in peacetime as a cost-saving measure and to provide experience to frigate captains and officers which would be useful in wartime. Frigates could also carry marines for boarding enemy ships or for operations on shore.
Common armament was one gundeck with 32 to 44 long guns, from 8- to 24-pounders (3.6 to 11 kg), plus a few carronade
Carronade
The carronade was a short smoothbore, cast iron cannon, developed for the Royal Navy by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, UK. It was used from the 1770s to the 1850s. Its main function was to serve as a powerful, short-range anti-ship and anti-crew weapon...
s (large bore short-range guns).
Frigates remained a crucial element of navies until the mid-19th century. The first ironclads were classified as "frigates" because of the number of guns they carried. However, terminology changed as iron and steam became the norm, and the role of the frigate was assumed first by the protected cruiser
Protected cruiser
The protected cruiser is a type of naval cruiser of the late 19th century, so known because its armoured deck offered protection for vital machine spaces from shrapnel caused by exploding shells above...
and then by the light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
.
Frigates are often the vessel of choice in historical naval novels due to their relative freedom compared to ships of the line (kept for fleet actions) and smaller vessels (generally assigned to a home port and less widely ranging). For example the Patrick O'Brian
Patrick O'Brian
Patrick O'Brian, CBE , born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of novels set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and centred on the friendship of English Naval Captain Jack Aubrey and the Irish–Catalan physician Stephen...
Aubrey–Maturin series
Aubrey–Maturin series
The Aubrey–Maturin series is a sequence of nautical historical novels—20 completed and one unfinished—by Patrick O'Brian, set during the Napoleonic Wars and centering on the friendship between Captain Jack Aubrey of the Royal Navy and his ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin, who is also a physician,...
, C. S. Forester
C. S. Forester
Cecil Scott "C.S." Forester was the pen name of Cecil Louis Troughton Smith , an English novelist who rose to fame with tales of naval warfare. His most notable works were the 11-book Horatio Hornblower series, depicting a Royal Navy officer during the Napoleonic era, and The African Queen...
's Horatio Hornblower
Horatio Hornblower
Horatio Hornblower is a fictional Royal Navy officer who is the protagonist of a series of novels by C. S. Forester. He was later the subject of films and television programs.The original Hornblower tales began with the 1937 novel The Happy Return Horatio Hornblower is a fictional Royal Navy...
series and Alexander Kent
Douglas Reeman
Douglas Edward Reeman, born at Thames Ditton, is a British author who has written many historical fiction books on the Royal Navy, mainly set during either World War II or the Napoleonic Wars....
's Richard Bolitho
Richard Bolitho
The Bolitho novels are a series of nautical war novels written by Douglas Reeman . They focus on the military careers of Richard Bolitho and Adam Bolitho in the Royal Navy, from the time of the American Revolution past the Napoleonic Era.-Richard Bolitho:Richard Bolitho is a fictional Royal Navy...
series. The motion picture Master and Commander
Master and Commander
Master and Commander is a historical naval novel by Patrick O'Brian. First published in 1969 , it is first in the Aubrey-Maturin series of stories of Captain Jack Aubrey and the naval surgeon Stephen Maturin. Closely based on the historical feats of Lord Cochrane, O'Brian's novel is set in the...
features a reconstructed historic frigate, HMS Rose, to depict Aubrey's frigate HMS Surprise.
Age of steam
Paddle steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...
s equipped with large guns mounted on one deck, which were termed "paddle frigates".
From the mid-1840s frigates which more closely resembled the traditional sailing frigate were built with steam engines and screw propeller
Propeller
A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's...
s. These "screw frigate
Screw frigate
Steam frigates and the smaller steam corvettes were steam-powered warships.The first vessel that can be considered a steam frigate was the Demologos which was launched in 1815 for the United States Navy....
s", built first of wood and later of iron
Wrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
, continued to perform the traditional role of the frigate until late in the 19th century.
Armoured frigate
From 1859, armour was added to ships based on existing frigate and ship of the lineShip of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
designs. The additional weight of the armour on these first ironclad warship
Ironclad warship
An ironclad was a steam-propelled warship in the early part of the second half of the 19th century, protected by iron or steel armor plates. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shells. The first ironclad battleship, La Gloire,...
s meant that they could have only one gun deck, and they were technically frigates, even though they were more powerful than existing ships-of-the-line and occupied the same strategic role. The phrase "armoured frigate" remained in use for some time to denote a sail-equipped, broadside-firing type of ironclad.
Towards the end of the 19th century, the term "frigate" fell out of use. Vessels with armoured sides were designated as "battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s" or "armoured cruisers", while "protected cruiser
Protected cruiser
The protected cruiser is a type of naval cruiser of the late 19th century, so known because its armoured deck offered protection for vital machine spaces from shrapnel caused by exploding shells above...
s" only possessed an armoured deck, and unarmoured vessels, including frigates and sloops, were classified as "unprotected cruisers".
Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
by 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...
to describe a new type of anti-submarine escort vessel that was larger than a corvette
Corvette
A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...
, but smaller than a destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
. The frigate was introduced to remedy some of the shortcomings inherent in the corvette design: limited armament, a hull form not suited to open-ocean work, a single shaft
Driveshaft
A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, propeller shaft, or Cardan shaft is a mechanical component for transmitting torque and rotation, usually used to connect other components of a drive train that cannot be connected directly because of distance or the need to allow for relative movement...
which limited speed and maneuverability, and a lack of range.
The frigate was designed and built to the same mercantile construction standards (scantling
Scantling
Scantling is a measurement of prescribed size, dimensions, or cross sectional areas. For comparison, see Form Factor: -Shipping:In shipbuilding, the scantling refers to the collective dimensions of the various parts, particularly the framing and structural supports. The word is most often used in...
s) as the corvette, allowing manufacture by yards unused to warship construction. The first frigates of the River class
River class frigate
The River class frigate was a class of 151 frigates launched between 1941 and 1944 for use as anti-submarine convoy escorts in the North Atlantic....
(1941) were essentially two sets of corvette machinery in one larger hull, armed with the latest Hedgehog
Hedgehog (weapon)
The Hedgehog was an anti-submarine weapon developed by the Royal Navy during World War II, that was deployed on convoy escort warships such as destroyers to supplement the depth charge. The weapon worked by firing a number of small spigot mortar bombs from spiked fittings...
anti-submarine weapon.
The frigate possessed less offensive firepower and speed than a destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
, but such qualities were not required for anti-submarine warfare. Submarines were slow, and ASDIC sets did not operate effectively at speeds of over 20 knots. Rather, the frigate was an austere and weatherly vessel suitable for mass-construction and fitted with the latest innovations in anti-submarine warfare. As the frigate was intended purely for convoy duties, and not to deploy with the fleet, it had limited range and speed.
The contemporaneous German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
Flottenbegleiter
Flottenbegleiter
The F class escort ships were a class of fleet escorts used by the Kriegsmarine during the Second World War. Ten ships were built in total, of a type roughly comparable to British frigates or American destroyer escorts. They were the only such type of ship built by the Kriegsmarine...
("fleet escorts"), also known as "F-Boats" were essentially frigates. They were based on a pre-war Oberkommando der Marine
Oberkommando der Marine
The Oberkommando der Marine was Nazi Germany's Naval High Command and the highest administrative and command authority of the Kriegsmarine. It was officially formed from the Marineleitung of the Reichswehr on 11 January 1936. In 1937 it was combined with the newly formed Seekriegsleitung...
concept of vessels which could fill roles such as fast minesweeper, minelayer, merchant escort and anti-submarine vessel. Because of the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
their displacement was officially limited to 600 tons, although in reality they exceeded this by about 100 tons. F-boats had two stacks and two 105 mm gun turrets. The design was flawed because of its narrow beam, sharp bow and unreliable high pressure steam turbines. F-boats were succeeded in operational duties by Type 35
Torpedo boat type 35
The Type 35 and Type 37 Torpedo boats were small destroyers built for the German Kriegsmarine between 1939 and 1942. They were designed to exploit a clause in the Washington Naval Treaty, which stipulated that ships under 600 tons standard displacement did not count towards limited tonnages...
and Elbing-class
Elbing class torpedo boat
The Elbing class torpedo boats were a class of 15 small warships that served in the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Although classed as Flottentorpedoboot by the Germans, in most respects—displacement, weaponry, usage—they were comparable to contemporary medium-size destroyers...
torpedo boats. Flottenbegleiter remained in service as advanced training vessels.
It was not until the Royal Navy's Bay class
Bay class frigate
The Bay class was a class of 26 anti-aircraft frigates built for the Royal Navy under the 1943 War Emergency Programme during World War II...
of 1944 that a British design bearing the name of frigate was produced for fleet use, although it still suffered from limited speed. These anti-aircraft frigates, built on incomplete Loch-class frigate
Loch class frigate
The Loch class was a class of anti-submarine frigate built for the Royal Navy and her allies during World War II. They were an innovative design based on the experience of 3 years of fighting in the Battle of the Atlantic and attendant technological advances.-Design:The Lochs were based upon the...
hulls, were similar to the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
's destroyer escort
Destroyer escort
A destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...
s (DE), although the latter had greater speed and offensive armament to better suit them to fleet deployments. The destroyer escorts came from a British commission, initiated prior to the US entry into the war, for deep water escorts. The American DEs serving in the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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...
were rated as frigates
Captain class frigate
The Captain class were 78 frigates of the Royal Navy, constructed in the United States, launched in 1942–1943 and delivered to the United Kingdom under the provisions of Lend-Lease. They served in World War II as convoy escorts, anti-submarine warfare vessels and coastal forces control frigates...
, and British-influenced Tacoma-class
Tacoma class frigate
The Tacoma class of patrol frigates served in the US Navy during World War II. Named for Tacoma, Washington, the Tacoma class design was based on the British River class frigates, primarily distinguished by the pole foremast and lighter main guns...
frigates serving in the USN were classed as patrol frigates (PF).
Guided missile role
Surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...
after the Second World War made relatively small ships effective for anti-aircraft warfare: the "guided missile frigate." In the USN, these vessels were called "ocean escort
Ocean escort
Ocean Escort was a type of United States Navy warship.Ocean Escorts were an evolution of the World War II destroyer escort types. They were intended as convoy escorts and were designed for mobilization production in wartime or low-cost mass production in peacetime.Their hull classification symbol...
s" and designated
Hull classification symbol
The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration use hull classification symbols to identify their ship types and each individual ship within each type...
"DE" or "DEG" until 1975 - a holdover from the World War II destroyer escort
Destroyer escort
A destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...
or "DE". The British 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...
maintained the use of the term "frigate"; likewise, the French Navy refers to missile-equipped ship, up to cruiser-sized ships, by the name of "frigate", while smaller units are named aviso
Aviso
An aviso , a kind of dispatch boat or advice boat, survives particularly in the French navy, they are considered equivalent to the modern sloop....
. Soviet Navy used the term "guard-ship" (сторожевой корабль).
From the 1950s to the 1970s, the United States Navy commissioned ships classed as guided missile frigates which were actually anti-aircraft warfare cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
s built on destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
-style hulls. Some of these ships—the Bainbridge
Bainbridge class cruiser
' was a nuclear-powered version of the double-ended guided missile frigate. Originally a guided missile destroyer leader, the class was re-designated guided missile cruiser in 1975...
, Truxtun
Truxtun class cruiser
The Truxtun class cruiser was a nuclear-powered class of single-ended guided missile cruisers based on a heavily modified version of the Belknap class...
, California
California class cruiser
The California class cruisers were a set of two of nuclear-powered guided missile cruisers operated by the United States Navy between 1974 and 1998. Other than their nuclear power supply and lack of helicopter hangars, ships of the California class were comparable to other guided missile cruisers...
and Virginia
Virginia class cruiser
The Virginia-class nuclear guided-missile cruisers were a series of four double-ended guided-missile cruisers commissioned in the late 1970s, which served in the US Navy until the mid- to late-1990s...
classes—were nuclear-powered
Nuclear fission
In nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry, nuclear fission is a nuclear reaction in which the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller parts , often producing free neutrons and photons , and releasing a tremendous amount of energy...
. These were larger than any previous frigates and the use of the term '"frigate"' here is much more analogous to its original use. All such ships were reclassified as guided missile cruisers (CG/CGN) or, in the case of the smaller Farragut class
Farragut class destroyer (1958)
The Farragut class was the second destroyer class of the United States Navy to be named for Admiral David Glasgow Farragut. The class is sometimes referred to as the Coontz class, since Coontz was first to be designed and built as a guided missile ship, whereas the previous three ships were...
, as guided missile destroyer
Guided missile destroyer
A guided missile destroyer is a destroyer designed to launch guided missiles. Many are also equipped to carry out anti-submarine, anti-air, and anti-surface operations. In the U.S...
s (DDG) in 1975. The last of these particular frigates were struck from the Naval Vessel Register
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
in the 1990s.
One of the most successful post-1945 designs was the British Leander-class frigate
Leander class frigate
The Leander class, or Type 12I frigates, comprising twenty-six vessels, was among the most numerous and long-lived classes of frigate in the Royal Navy's modern history. The class was built in three batches between 1959 and 1973...
, which was used by several navies. Laid down in 1959, the Leanders were based on the previous Type 12 anti-submarine frigate
Whitby class frigate
The Type 12 frigates of the Whitby class were a six-ship class of anti-submarine warfare frigates of the Royal Navy that entered service late in the 1950s. They were designed as first rate ocean-going convoy escorts in light of experience gained during World War II...
but equipped for anti-aircraft use as well. They were used by the UK into the 1990s, at which point some were sold onto other navies. The Leander design, or improved versions of it, were licence-built for other navies.
Nearly all modern frigates are equipped with some form of offensive or defensive missiles, and as such are rated as guided-missile frigates (FFG). Improvements in surface-to-air missiles (e.g., the Eurosam
Eurosam
Eurosam GIE is a European manufacturer of anti-air missiles.Eurosam was established in June 1989 for the development of the Famille de missiles Sol-Air Futurs . Eurosam was initially a joint venture between Aérospatiale, Alenia and Thomson-CSF...
Aster 15
MBDA Aster
Aster is a family of surface-to-air missiles manufactured by Eurosam, a European consortium consisting of MBDA France, MBDA Italy and the Thales Group .-Overview:The Aster family was developed to perform three distinct missions:...
) allow modern guided-missile frigates to form the core of many modern navies and to be used as a fleet defence platform, without the need for specialised anti-air warfare frigates.
Other uses
The Royal Navy Type 61 Salisbury classSalisbury class frigate
The Type 61 Salisbury class were a class of British aircraft direction frigates built for the Royal Navy. They were related to the Type 41 Leopard class frigates, but with reduced armament to make way for more aircraft direction equipment.-Construction Programme:Three further ships of the class...
were "air direction"
Radar picket
A radar picket is a radar-equipped ship, submarine, aircraft, or vehicle used to increase the radar detection range around a force to protect it from surprise attack. Often several detached radar units encircle a force to provide increased cover in all directions.-World War II:Radar picket ships...
frigates equipped to track aircraft. To this end they had reduced armament compared to the Type 41 Leopard-class
Leopard class frigate
The Type 41 or Leopard class were a class of anti-aircraft defence frigates built for the Royal Navy and Indian Navy in the 1950s. These ships were designed to provide anti-aircraft escorts to convoys, as a result they were not built for fleet speeds and made only...
air-defence frigates built on the same hull.
Multi-role frigates like MEKO 200
MEKO 200
The MEKO 200 is a frigate design by the Blohm + Voss shipyard of Germany, as part of the MEKO family of warships.-Anzac class :...
, Anzac class frigate
Anzac class frigate
The Anzac class is a ship class of ten frigates; eight operated by the Royal Australian Navy and two operated by the Royal New Zealand Navy...
and Halifax class frigate
Halifax class frigate
The Halifax-class frigate is a class of multi-role patrol frigates that have served the Royal Canadian Navy since 1992...
are designed for navies needing warships deployed in a variety of situations that a general frigate class would not be able to fulfill and not requiring the need for deploying Destroyers.
Anti-submarine role
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
. Increasing submarine speeds towards the end of the Second World War (see German Type XXI submarine
German Type XXI submarine
Type XXI U-boats, also known as "Elektroboote", were the first submarines designed to operate primarily submerged, rather than as surface ships that could submerge as a means to escape detection or launch an attack.-Description:...
) greatly reduced the margin of speed superiority of frigate over submarine. The frigate could no longer be slow and powered by mercantile machinery and consequently postwar frigates, such as the Whitby class
Type 12 frigate
Type 12 frigate can refer to several ship classes. It most commonly describes the common design of three ship classes of the Royal Navy designed during the 1950s and constructed during the 1960s....
, were faster.
Such ships carry improved sonar
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
equipment, such as the variable depth sonar or towed array
Towed array sonar
A towed array sonar is a sonar array that is towed behind a submarine or surface ship. It is basically a long cable, up to 5 km, with hydrophones that is trailed behind the ship when deployed. The hydrophones are placed at specific distances along the cable...
, and specialised weapons such as torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
es, forward-throwing weapons such as Limbo
Limbo (weapon)
Limbo, or Anti Submarine Mortar Mark 10 , was the final British development of a forward-throwing anti-submarine weapon originally designed during the Second World War. Limbo, a three-barreled mortar similar to the earlier Squid that it superseded, was developed by the Admiralty Underwater Weapons...
and missile-carried anti-submarine torpedoes such as ASROC
ASROC
ASROC is an all-weather, all sea-conditions anti-submarine missile system. Developed by the United States Navy in the 1950s, it was deployed in the 1960s, updated in the 1990s, and eventually installed on over 200 USN surface ships, specifically cruisers, destroyers, and frigates...
or Ikara
Ikara (missile)
The Ikara missile was an Australian ship-launched anti-submarine missile, named after an Australian Aboriginal word for "throwing stick". It launched an acoustic torpedo to a range of , allowing fast-reaction attacks against submarines at ranges that would otherwise require the launching ship to...
. Surface-to-air missiles such as Sea Sparrow and surface-to-surface missiles such as Exocet
Exocet
The Exocet is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from surface vessels, submarines, helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. Hundreds were fired in combat during the 1980s.-Etymology:...
give them defensive and offensive capabilities. The Royal Navy's original Type 22 frigate
Type 22 frigate
The Type 22 Broadsword class is a class of frigate built for the British Royal Navy. Fourteen of the class were built in total, with production divided into three batches. With the decommissioning of HMS Cornwall on 30 June 2011, the final Type 22 of the Royal Navy was retired from service...
is an example of a specialised anti-submarine warfare frigate.
Especially for anti-submarine warfare, most modern frigates have a landing deck
Helipad
Helipad is a common abbreviation for helicopter landing pad, a landing area for helicopters. While helicopters are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard surface away from obstacles where a helicopter can safely...
and hangar
Hangar
A hangar is a closed structure to hold aircraft or spacecraft in protective storage. Most hangars are built of metal, but other materials such as wood and concrete are also sometimes used...
aft to operate helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
s, eliminating the need for the frigate to close with unknown sub-surface threats, and using fast helicopters to attack nuclear submarines which may be faster than surface warships. For this task the helicopter is equipped with sensors such as sonobuoy
Sonobuoy
A sonobuoy is a relatively small expendable sonar system that is dropped/ejected from aircraft or ships conducting anti-submarine warfare or underwater acoustic research....
s, wire-mounted dipping sonar and magnetic anomaly detector
Magnetic anomaly detector
A magnetic anomaly detector is an instrument used to detect minute variations in the Earth's magnetic field. The term refers specifically to magnetometers used by military forces to detect submarines ; the military MAD gear is a descendent of geomagnetic survey instruments used to search for...
s to identify possible threats, and torpedoes or depth-charges to attack them.
With their onboard radar helicopters can also be used to reconnoitre over-the-horizon targets and, if equipped with anti-ship missile
Anti-ship missile
Anti-ship missiles are guided missiles that are designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea-skimming type, many use a combination of inertial guidance and radar homing...
s such as Penguin
Penguin missile
The Penguin anti-ship missile , made by Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace of Norway from the early 1970s and continually upgraded since, is a passive-IR seeker based short-to-medium range naval guided missile...
or Sea Skua
Sea Skua
The Sea Skua is a British lightweight short-range air-to-surface missile designed for use from helicopters against ships. It is primarily used by the Royal Navy on the Westland Lynx helicopter, although Kuwait uses it in a shore battery and on their Umm Al Maradem fast attack craft.The British...
, to attack them. The helicopter is also invaluable for search and rescue
Search and rescue
Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
operation and has largely replaced the use of small boats
Dinghy
A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed for use as a ship's boat by a larger vessel. It is a loanword from either Bengali or Urdu. The term can also refer to small racing yachts or recreational open sailing boats. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor,...
or the jackstay rig
Underway replenishment
Underway replenishment or replenishment at sea is a method of transferring fuel, munitions, and stores from one ship to another while under way.-History:...
for such duties as transferring personnel, mail and cargo between ships or to shore. With helicopters these tasks can be accomplished faster and less dangerously, and without the need for the frigate to slow down or change course.
Further developments
Stealth technology
Stealth technology
Stealth technology also termed LO technology is a sub-discipline of military tactics and passive electronic countermeasures, which cover a range of techniques used with personnel, aircraft, ships, submarines, and missiles, to make them less visible to radar, infrared, sonar and other detection...
has been introduced in modern frigate design. Frigate shapes are designed to offer a minimal radar cross section
Radar cross section
Radar cross section is a measure of how detectable an object is with a radar. A larger RCS indicates that an object is more easily detected.An object reflects a limited amount of radar energy...
, which also lends them good air penetration; the maneuverability of these frigates has been compared to that of sailing ships. Examples are the French La Fayette class
La Fayette class frigate
The La Fayette class units are light multi-mission frigates built by DCN and operated by French Marine Nationale...
with the Aster 15 missile for anti-missile capabilities, the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
F125 class and Sachsen-class frigates
Sachsen class frigate
The F124 Sachsen class is Germany's latest class of highly advanced air-defense frigates. The design of the Sachsen class frigate is based on that of the F123 Brandenburg class but with enhanced stealth features intended to deceive any opponent's radar and acoustic sensors and incorporate also the...
and the Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
TF-2000 type frigates with the MK-41 VLS.
The modern French Navy
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
applies the term first-class frigate and second-class frigate to both destroyers and frigates in service. Pennant numbers remain divided between F-series numbers for those ships internationally recognised as frigates and D-series pennant numbers for those more traditionally recognised as destroyers. This can result in some confusion as certain classes are referred to as frigates in French service while similar ships in other navies are referred to as destroyers. This also results in some recent classes of French ships being among the largest in the world to carry the rating of frigate.
In the German Navy
German Navy
The German Navy is the navy of Germany and is part of the unified Bundeswehr .The German Navy traces its roots back to the Imperial Fleet of the revolutionary era of 1848 – 52 and more directly to the Prussian Navy, which later evolved into the Northern German Federal Navy...
frigates were used to replace aging destroyers; however in size and role the new German frigates exceed the former class of destroyers. The future German F125-class frigate
F125 class frigate
F125 is the project name for the Type 125 Baden-Württemberg class of frigates, currently in development for the German Navy by ARGE F125, a joint-venture of Thyssen-Krupp and Lürssen...
will be the largest class of frigates worldwide with a displacement of more than 7,200 tons. The same was done in the Spanish Navy
Spanish Navy
The Spanish Navy is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Armada is responsible for notable achievements in world history such as the discovery of Americas, the first world circumnavigation, and the discovery of a maritime path...
, which went ahead with the deployment of the first Aegis
Aegis combat system
The Aegis Combat System is an integrated naval weapons system developed by the Missile and Surface Radar Division of RCA, and now produced by Lockheed Martin...
frigates, the F100
Álvaro de Bazán class frigate
The Álvaro de Bazán class are a new class of Aegis combat system-equipped air defense frigates entering service with the Spanish Navy...
class frigates.
Some new classes of ships similar to corvettes are optimised for high-speed deployment and combat with small craft rather than combat between equal opponents; an example is the U.S. Littoral Combat Ship
Littoral combat ship
A Littoral Combat Ship is a type of relatively small surface vessel intended for operations in the littoral zone . It is "envisioned to be a networked, agile, stealthy surface combatant capable of defeating anti-access and asymmetric threats in the littorals." Two ship classes are the first...
.
See also
- List of frigate classes
- List of frigate classes by country
- United States Navy 1975 ship reclassificationUnited States Navy 1975 ship reclassificationThe United States Navy reclassified many of its surface vessels in 1975, changing terminology and hull classification symbols for cruisers, frigates, and ocean escorts.- Classification prior to 1975 :...
Lists
Note that Algerian, Tripolitan and Tunisian sail frigates are listed under Turkey. All Italian city-state frigates are listed under Italy.| Sail frigates (1640–1860) |
Steam frigates (1830–1880) |
Modern frigates (1940–present) |
Current frigates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | Austria | ||
| Canada | Canada Halifax class frigate The Halifax-class frigate is a class of multi-role patrol frigates that have served the Royal Canadian Navy since 1992... |
||
| China | China | ||
| Republic of Ragusa (Croatia) | Croatia | ||
| Denmark | Denmark | ||
| Egypt | Egypt | ||
| Finland | |||
| France | |||
| Germany | Germany | Germany | Germany |
| Greece | |||
| India Shivalik class frigate The Shivalik class frigates or Project 17 class frigates are multi-role frigates with stealth features being built for the Indian Navy. They are the first warships being built in India with such features. The lead vessel of the class was commissioned on April 29, 2010.The Shivalik class will be the... |
|||
| Iran Current Iranian Navy Vessels This list reflects the state of the mainline Iranian Navy, and does not include the vessels of the Navy of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution.-Kilo:*SSK Kilo **Displacement: 4,000 tons submerged**Dimensions: 74 x 9.9 x 6.5 meters... |
|||
| Italy | Italy | Italy | Italy |
| Malaysia | Malaysia | ||
| Myanmar | Myanmar | ||
| Netherlands | Netherlands | ||
| New Zealand | New Zealand | ||
| Norway | Norway | ||
| Pakistan F-22P The F-22P or Zulfiquar Class Frigate , is a general purpose frigate being built by China and Pakistan for the Pakistan Navy . The first ship, PNS Zulfiquar, was handed over to the PN on 30 July 2009 and the second, PNS Shamsheer, on January 23, 2010... |
Pakistan F-22P The F-22P or Zulfiquar Class Frigate , is a general purpose frigate being built by China and Pakistan for the Pakistan Navy . The first ship, PNS Zulfiquar, was handed over to the PN on 30 July 2009 and the second, PNS Shamsheer, on January 23, 2010... |
||
| Peru | Peru | Peru | |
| Portugal | Portugal | Portugal | |
| Romania | Romania | Romania | Romania |
| Russia | Russia | ||
| Singapore | |||
| South Africa Valour class frigate The South African Valour class frigates are the major surface ships of the South African Navy. Their German manufacturer designates these warships as the MEKO A-200SAN class, member of its MEKO family of naval ships... |
|||
| Spain | Spain | Spain | Spain |
| Sweden | |||
| Turkey | Turkey | Turkey | Turkey |
| United Kingdom | |||
| United States | United States | United States | United States |
| Republic of China (Taiwan) | Taiwan | ||
| Yugoslavia | Yugoslavia | ||
External links
- Frigates from battleships-cruisers.co.uk - history and pictures of United Kingdom frigates since World War II
- Frigates from Destroyers OnLine - pictures, history, crews of United States frigates since 1963
- The Development of the Full-Rigged Ship From the Carrack to the Full-Rigger