Sixth-rate
Encyclopedia
Sixth rate was the designation used by the Royal Navy
for small warships mounting between 20 and 24 nine-pounder guns on a single deck, sometimes with guns on the upper works and sometimes without.
of about 150-240 men, and measured between 450 and 550 tons. A 28-gun ship would have about 19 officers; commissioned officers would include the captain
, and two lieutenant
s; warrant officer
s would include the master, ship's surgeon, and purser
. The other quarterdeck officers were the chaplain
and a Royal Marines
lieutenant. The ship also carried the standing warrant officers, the gunner
, the bosun and the carpenter
, and two master's mate
s, four midshipmen
, an assistant surgeon
, and a captain's clerk
. The rest of the men were the crew, or the 'lower deck'. They slept in hammocks and ate their simple meals at tables, sitting on wooden benches. A sixth rate carried about 23 marines, while in a strong crew the bulk of the rest were experienced seamen rated 'able' or 'ordinary'. In a weaker crew there would be a large proportion of 'landsmen', adults who were unused to the sea.
The larger sixth rates were those of 28 guns (including four smaller guns mounted on the quarterdeck) and were classed as frigate
s. The smaller sixth rates with between 20 and 24 guns, still all ship-rigged and sometimes flush-decked
vessels, were known as "post ship
s" because, being rated, they were still large enough to have a post-captain
in command, instead of a lieutenant or commander.
During the Napoleonic Wars, the by now elderly sixth-rate frigates were found to be too small for the duties expected of a fifth-rate
frigate, and were phased out without replacement, although a few lasted in auxiliary roles until after 1815.
In later years sixth-rate frigates were sometimes called "jackass frigates", as they were really not quite big enough for proper frigate duties.
was a sixth rate. She was the frigate captained by Jack Aubrey
and was based on the actual historical frigate, formerly the French Unité, which was captured and renamed by the Royal Navy in 1796. She plays a prominent role in many of Patrick O'Brian
's popular novels, collectively known as the Aubrey–Maturin series
, and was portrayed in the 2003 film Master and Commander
.
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...
for small warships mounting between 20 and 24 nine-pounder guns on a single deck, sometimes with guns on the upper works and sometimes without.
Rating
Sixth-rate ships typically had a crewCrew
A crew is a body or a class of people who work at a common activity, generally in a structured or hierarchical organization. A location in which a crew works is called a crewyard or a workyard...
of about 150-240 men, and measured between 450 and 550 tons. A 28-gun ship would have about 19 officers; commissioned officers would include the captain
Captain (Royal Navy)
Captain is a senior officer rank of the Royal Navy. It ranks above Commander and below Commodore and has a NATO ranking code of OF-5. The rank is equivalent to a Colonel in the British Army or Royal Marines and to a Group Captain in the Royal Air Force. The rank of Group Captain is based on the...
, and two lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
s; warrant officer
Warrant Officer
A warrant officer is an officer in a military organization who is designated an officer by a warrant, as distinguished from a commissioned officer who is designated an officer by a commission, or from non-commissioned officer who is designated an officer by virtue of seniority.The rank was first...
s would include the master, ship's surgeon, and purser
Purser
The purser joined the warrant officer ranks of the Royal Navy in the early fourteenth century and existed as a Naval rank until 1852. The development of the warrant officer system began in 1040 when five English ports began furnishing warships to King Edward the Confessor in exchange for certain...
. The other quarterdeck officers were the chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
and a Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
lieutenant. The ship also carried the standing warrant officers, the gunner
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
, the bosun and the carpenter
Carpentry
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
, and two master's mate
Master's mate
Master's mate is an obsolete rating which was used by the Royal Navy, United States Navy and merchant services in both countries for a senior petty officer who assisted the master...
s, four midshipmen
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
, an assistant surgeon
Surgeon's mate
A surgeon's mate was a rank in the Royal Navy for a medically trained assistant to the ship's surgeon. The rank was renamed assistant surgeon in 1805, and was considered equivalent to the rank of master's mate/mate...
, and a captain's clerk
Captain's clerk
A captain's clerk was a rating, now obsolete, in the Royal Navy for a person employed by the captain to keep his records, correspondence, and accounts. The regulations of the Royal Navy demanded that a purser serve at least one year as a captain's clerk, so the latter was often a young man working...
. The rest of the men were the crew, or the 'lower deck'. They slept in hammocks and ate their simple meals at tables, sitting on wooden benches. A sixth rate carried about 23 marines, while in a strong crew the bulk of the rest were experienced seamen rated 'able' or 'ordinary'. In a weaker crew there would be a large proportion of 'landsmen', adults who were unused to the sea.
The larger sixth rates were those of 28 guns (including four smaller guns mounted on the quarterdeck) and were classed as frigate
Frigate
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"...
s. The smaller sixth rates with between 20 and 24 guns, still all ship-rigged and sometimes flush-decked
Flush deck
In naval architecture, a flush deck refers to when the upper deck of a vessel extends unbroken from stem to stern. There is no raised forecastle or lowered quarterdeck. Ships of this type may be referred to as "flush deckers", although this is often taken as referring to a series of United States...
vessels, were known 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" because, being rated, they were still large enough to have a post-captain
Post-Captain
Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy.The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from:...
in command, instead of a lieutenant or commander.
During the Napoleonic Wars, the by now elderly sixth-rate frigates were found to be too small for the duties expected of a fifth-rate
Fifth-rate
In Britain's Royal Navy during the classic age of fighting sail, a fifth rate was the penultimate class of warships in a hierarchal system of six "ratings" based on size and firepower.-Rating:...
frigate, and were phased out without replacement, although a few lasted in auxiliary roles until after 1815.
In later years sixth-rate frigates were sometimes called "jackass frigates", as they were really not quite big enough for proper frigate duties.
In fiction
The fictional HMS SurpriseHMS Surprise (ship)
HMS Surprise is a modern tall ship, built at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada as Rose in 1970 to a Phil Bolger design based on the original 18th century British Admiralty drawings...
was a sixth rate. She was the frigate captained by Jack Aubrey
Jack Aubrey
John "Jack" Aubrey, KB , is a fictional character in the Aubrey–Maturin series of novels by Patrick O'Brian. The series portrays his rise from Lieutenant to Rear-Admiral in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. The twenty -book series encompasses Aubrey's adventures and various commands along...
and was based on the actual historical frigate, formerly the French Unité, which was captured and renamed by the Royal Navy in 1796. She plays a prominent role in many of 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...
's popular novels, collectively known as the 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,...
, and was portrayed in the 2003 film Master and Commander
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a 2003 film directed by Peter Weir, starring Russell Crowe as Jack Aubrey, with Paul Bettany as Stephen Maturin and released by 20th Century Fox, Miramax Films and Universal Studios...
.