Lyme-class frigate

The Lyme class were a class of two 24-gun sixth-rate frigates of the Royal Navy. They served during the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War.

They were built to the draught of a French privateer named Le Tygre, which had been captured earlier in 1747. They were initially rated as 24-gun ships, in spite of having four 3-pdr guns mounted on the quarterdeck, as well as the twenty-four 9-pdr guns forming their primary battery on the upper deck. However, in 1756 they were re-classed as 28-gun ships. They are normally seen as the first true sailing frigates to be built for the Royal Navy.

Ships in class

 * HMS Lyme
 * Ordered: 29 April 1747
 * Builder: Deptford Royal Dockyard
 * Laid Down: 24 September 1747
 * Launched: 10 December 1748
 * Completed: 8 February 1749
 * Fate: Wrecked off the Baltic coast of Sweden on 18 October 1760.
 * HMS Unicorn
 * Ordered: 29 April 1747
 * Builder: Plymouth Royal Dockyard
 * Laid down: 3 July 1747
 * Launched: 7 December 1748
 * Completed: 17 July 1749
 * Fate: Broken up at Sheerness Dockyard in December 1771