The Porcupine-class sailing sixth rates were a series of ten 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 built to a 1776 design by John Williams, which served 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...

 during the American Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

, some surviving to see more service in the Napoleonic Wars

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...

. The 24-gun design was a development (and lengthening) of his 1773 design for the 20-gun Sphinx class

Sphinx class post ship

The Sphinx-class sailing sixth rates were a series of ten post ships built to a 1773 design by John Williams. Although smaller than true frigates, post ships were often referred to incorrectly as frigates....

. The first two were launched in 1777, three in 1778, three more in 1779, and the last two in 1781.

Ships in class

• • Builder: Edward Greaves, Limehouse
    Limehouse
    Limehouse is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is on the northern bank of the River Thames opposite Rotherhithe and between Ratcliff to the west and Millwall to the east....
    
    
  • Ordered: 21 June 1776
  • Laid down: July 1776
  • Launched: 17 December 1777
  • Completed: 14 February 1778 at Deptford Dockyard
  • Fate: Broken up at Woolwich
    Woolwich
    Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...
    
     1n April 1805.