Frigate
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- For the bird, see Frigatebird.
Frigate is a name which has been used for several distinct types of warships at different times. It has referred to a variety of ship roles and sizes. From the 18th century, it referred to a ship smaller and faster than a ship-of-the-line, used for patrolling and escort work rather than fighting fleet actions. In modern military terminology, the definition of a frigate is a warship intended to protect other warships and merchant marine ships and as anti-submarine warfare (ASW) combatants for amphibious expeditionary forces, underway replenishment groups, and merchant convoys. However, many ships known as frigates have more closely resembled other classes of ship, including everything ranging from a corvette to a destroyer, cruiser or even a battleship. The variation comes from a number of sources, such as the era, the particulars of battlefield roles, and the standards of a given country
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[edit] Origin
The term "frigate" was used in the seventeenth century, initially to describe a type of small, long, warship with small armament and a large crew used by Dunkirk Privateers for short-range raiding in the English Channel. The terms was soon adopted for any relatively fast and lightly built warships, the first in British service being the Constant Warwick of 1645.
Because the British navy required greater endurance than the Dunkirk frigates could provide, the term 'frigate' was soon applied less exclusively to any relatively fast and elegant ship. Even the mighty Sovereign of the Seas was described as 'a delicate frigate' after modifications to her in 1651.
The fleets built by the Commonwealth 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 'cruisers'; independent fast ships. The term 'frigate' implied a long hull design, which in turn helped the development of the broadside tactic in naval warfare.
In French, the term 'frigate' became a verb, meaning 'to build long and low', and an adjective, adding further confusion. [1]
The classic sailing frigate as we know it from the Napoleonic wars can be traced back to French developments in the second quarter of the 18th century. These ships were full rigged and carried all their main guns on a single gun deck, what had used to be the upper gun deck on similarly-sized two-decked ships earlier. The lower 'gun' deck now carried no armament and functioned as "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. 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 early stages of the Seven Years' War (1756–1763) and were duly 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.
Early frigates were armed with 9-pounder guns, development soon led to 12- and 18-pounder (5 and 8 kg) armed frigates, and at the turn of the century the biggest ones (most notably the American "super frigates") even carried 24 pounder main batteries.
Royal Navy frigates of the late 18th century were based on the 1780-vintage Perseverance class, which displaced around 900 tons and carried 36 guns; this successful class was followed by the Tribune class batch of fifteen ships starting in 1801 that displaced over 1,000 tons and carried 38 guns.
[edit] The age of sail
A frigate was a medium-sized sailing warship with one gun deck, plus guns on the spar deck. It was faster than the larger ship of the line and larger than a sloop-of-war. British sailing frigates during the period 1640-1860 were rated fourth-rate, fifth-rate and sixth-rate according to the rating system of the Royal Navy.
Frigates were perhaps the hardest-worked of warship types during the age of sail. They scouted for the fleet, went on commerce-raiding missions and patrols, conveyed messages and dignitaries, and filled in places in the line of battle if there was a shortage of battleships (from the term "line of battle" ship, but more commonly referred to as "ships of the line" or referred to by the number of guns they carried—for example, "74s"). Usually frigates would fight in small numbers or singly against other frigates. Unlike larger ships that were placed in ordinary, frigates were kept in service in peacetime both as a cost-saving measure and to provide quality experience to frigate captains and officers which would be useful in wartime. Frigates could also carry marines or naval infantry for boarding enemy ships or for operations on shore.
In the 17th century, frigates were masterpieces of engineering and design; the British added more sails and weapons, the Dutch made frigates with a shallow draft and the French added bow and stern weapons and Baroque designs. Frigate armament ranged from 22 guns on one deck to up to even 70+ guns on two decks. Common armament was 32 to 44 long guns, from 8 to 24 pounders (3.6 to 11 kg), plus a few carronades (large bore short range guns), which weren't counted in the rating of the ship. In the early steam age (1840-60) steam frigates were the fastest ships around, finally evolving into the cruisers of the 20th century.
The oldest commissioned warship in the US Navy is USS Constitution, better known as "Old Ironsides", a frigate launched 21 October 1797. It is the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world; HMS Victory, although older, is maintained in dry dock. The US Navy's 44-gun frigates (or "super-frigates"), which actually carried fifty-six to sixty 24-pounder long guns and 36-pounder or 48-pounder carronades, were exceptionally powerful and tough. These ships were so well-respected that they were often seen as equal to 4th-rate ships of the line, and RN fighting instructions ordered British frigates (usually of 38-guns or less) to never engage American frigates at any less than a 2:1 advantage.
In the late 1800s, the term "frigate" fell out of naval fashion; ships that had been designated frigates were re-designated "cruising-ships" and from there to cruisers. The term "frigate" would lie unused until the Second World War, when it would be re-appropriated to describe a new type of convoy escort vessel.
[edit] Modern frigates
[edit] Genesis
Modern frigates are only related to earlier frigates by name. The term "frigate" passed out of use in the mid-19th century and was readopted during World War II by the British 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, namely limited armament, a hull form not suited to open ocean work, a single shaft which limited speed and manoeuvrability, and a lack of range. The frigate was designed and built to the same mercantile construction standards (scantlings) 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 requisite in anti-submarine warfare (for instance, 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. It was not until the Bay class of 1944 that a frigate design was produced for fleet use (although it still suffered from limited speed). These frigates were similar to the United States Navy's (USN) destroyer escorts (DE), although the latter had greater speed and offensive armament to better suit it to fleet deployments. 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).
[edit] Guided missile frigates
The development of the surface-to-air missile after the Second World War conferred anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) to the frigate mission, in the form of the "guided missile frigate". . In the USN these vessels were called "Ocean Escorts" and designated "DE" or "DEG" until 1975 - a holdover from the World War II Destroyer Escort or DE. Other navies maintained the use of the term "frigate".
From the 1950s to the 1970s, the USN commissioned ships classed as guided missile frigates which were actually AAW cruisers 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 destroyers (DDG) in 1975. The last of these particular frigates were struck from the Naval Vessel Register in the 1990s.
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 (like the Eurosam Aster 15) has meant that the modern frigate can increasingly be used as a fleet defence platform, negating the need for such specialised AAW frigates, and form the core of many modern navies.
[edit] Anti-submarine warfare frigates
At the opposite end of the spectrum, some frigates are specialised for anti-submarine warfare (ASW). Increasing submarine speeds towards the end of the Second World War (see German Type XXI submarine) meant that the margin of speed superiority of frigate over submarine was greatly reduced. The frigate could therefore no longer be a relatively slow vessel powered by mercantile machinery, and as such postwar frigate construction was of fast vessels, such as the Whitby class. Such ships carry improved sonar equipment, such as the variable depth sonar or towed array, and specialised weapons such as torpedoes, ahead-throwing weapons such as Limbo and missile-carried anti-submarine torpedoes like ASROC or Ikara. They can retain defensive and offensive capabilities by the carriage of surface-to-air and to-surface missiles (such as Sea Sparrow or Exocet, respectively.) The Royal Navy's original Type 22 frigate is an example of such a specialised ASW frigate.
Especially for ASW, most modern frigates have a landing deck and hangar aft to operate helicopters. This negates the need for the frigate to close unknown sub-surface contacts it has detected, and thus risking attack and is especially pertinent as modern submarines are often nuclear powered and faster than surface warships. The helicopter is utilised for this purpose instead, allowing the parent ship to stand off at a safe distance. For this tasking the helicopter is equipped with sensors such as sonobuoys, wire-mounted dipping sonar and magnetic anomaly detectors, to identify possible threats and combat confirmed targets with torpedoes or depth-charges. With their onboard radar, helicopters can also be used to reconnoitre targets over-the-horizon and, if equipped with anti-ship missiles such as Penguin or Sea Skua, to engage in anti-surface warfare as well. 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 deviate from its course.
[edit] Modern developments
Modern times have seen the arrival of stealth technology in frigate design. Their shapes are configured to offer a minimal radar cross section, which also lends them good air penetration; the manoeuvrability of these frigates has been compared to that of sailing ships. A good example is the French La Fayette-class with the Aster 15 missile for anti-missile capabilities, or the German F125 class and Sachsen class frigates.
The modern French Navy applies the term frigate to both frigates and destroyers in service. Pennant numbers remain divided between F-series numbers for those ships internationally recognized as frigates and D-series pennant numbers for those more traditionally recognized 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.
Also in the German Navy frigates were used to replace ageing destroyers; however in size and role the new German frigates exceed the former class of destroyers.
Some new classes of frigates are optimized for high-speed deployment and combat with small craft ahead of the usual idea of sea combat between equal opponents, an example of this school of thought is the American Littoral Combat Ship, as exemplified by the first ship of the type, USS Freedom.
[edit] References
- ^ Rodger, N.A.M: "The Command of the Ocean - a Naval History of Britain, 1649-1815". Allen Lane, London, 2004. ISBN 0-713-99411-8
[edit] See also
- List of frigate classes
- List of frigate classes by country
- United States Navy 1975 ship reclassification
- Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald
[edit] Further reading
- Gresham, John D., "The swift and sure steeds of the fighting sail fleet were its dashing frigates", Military Heritage magazine, (John D. Gresham, Military Heritage, February 2002, Volume 3, No.4, pp. 12 to 17 and p. 87).
- Royal Navy Frigates 1945-1983 Leo Marriot, Ian Allan, 1983, ISBN 0-7110-1322-5
[edit] 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
- "So Uneasy a Ship: The Unfortunate Career of the Frigate Chesapeake" by Joseph C. Mosier
- The Development of the Full-Rigged Ship From the Carrack to the Full-Rigger
[edit] Lists of frigates
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 |
| Australia | Australia | ||
| Austria | Austria | ||
| Canada | Canada | ||
| Denmark | Denmark | ||
| Egypt | Egypt | ||
| Finland | |||
| France | France | France | France |
| Germany | Germany | Germany | Germany |
| Greece | Greece | Greece | |
| Italy | Italy | Italy | Italy |
| Netherlands | Netherlands | ||
| Norway | |||
| Peru | Peru | Peru | |
| Portugal | |||
| Russia | Russia | Russia | |
| Singapore | |||
| Spain | Spain | Spain | |
| Sweden | |||
| Turkey | Turkey | ||
| United Kingdom | United Kingdom | United Kingdom | United Kingdom |
| United States | United States | United States | United States |
| Republic of China (Taiwan) | Taiwan |
| Types of sailing vessels and rigs | |
|---|---|
| Barque | Barquentine | Bermuda rig | Bilander | Brig | Brigantine | Caravel | Carrack | Catamaran | Catboat | Clipper | Dutch Clipper | Cog | Corvette | Cutter | Dhow | Fifie | Fluyt | Fore & Aft Rig | Frigate | Full Rigged Ship | Gaff Rig | Galleon | Gunter Rig | Hermaphrodite Brig | Junk | Ketch | Longship | Mersey Flat | Multihull | Nao | Norfolk Wherry | Pink | Pocket Cruiser | Polacca | Pram | Proa | Sailing hydrofoil | Schooner | Ship of the Line | Sloop | Smack | Snow | Square Rig | Tall Ship | Thames Sailing Barge | Trimaran | Wherry | Windjammer | Windsurfer | Xebec | Yacht | Yawl | |
