Endymion class frigate
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders: |
|
| Operators: |
 Royal Navy
|
| Built: | 1795–1814 |
| In commission: | 1797–1859 |
| Completed: | 6 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | 40-gun fifth-rates, rerated as 50-gun fourth-rates in 1817 |
| Tons burthen: | 1,468 11/94 (as designed) |
| Length: | 159 ft 2 in (48.51 m) on gundeck |
| Beam: | 41 ft 2 in (12.55 m) |
| Draught: | 12 ft 4 in (3.76 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sail |
| Speed: | 14.4 knots (16.6 mph; 26.7 km/h) |
| Complement: | 300 (later 340) |
| Armament: |
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The Endymion-class was a class of six Royal Navy 40-gun fifth-rate frigates, with the prototype launched in 1797 and five slightly amended versions built of fir launched from 1813 to 1814.
In 1794, a frigate squadron under the command of Captain Sir John Borlase Warren captured the French 40-gun frigate Pomone. Surprisingly to her captors, the ship was armed with 26 × 24-pounder long guns, a main armament that was relatively uncommon for frigates in the 18th century. Furthermore, the Pomone impressed the British with outstanding sailing qualities in every variation of the wind, and being capable of sailing more than 13 knots.
On 30 April 1795, the Admiralty ordered three frigates — with 36 guns, 38 guns and 40 guns — the first and third built to the lines of the captured French frigate and the second to a new design by the Surveyors (the ship designers of the Royal Navy). The 40-gun French design was copied from the Pomone, and in November 1795 the keel was laid down at the Rotherhithe shipyard of John Randall & Company for the new ship, which on 14 November 1795 was named as the HMS Endymion. She was launched on 29 March 1797 and towed to Deptford Dockyard, where she was commissioned in April 1797 and completed on 12 June 1797.
The Endymion was not an exact copy of the Pomone, being built to British design standards with stronger construction. Surprisingly, Endymion sailed even better than Pomone, reaching 14.4 knots, the highest recorded speed during the Age of Sail. Reclassified as a 48-gun fourth-rate frigate in February 1817, then as 50-gun, and finally as 44-gun in February 1839, Endymion's fine qualities were such that she continued to be praised for nearly half a century. She was finally broken up at Plymouth Dockyard in June 1868.
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