Leda-class frigate


The Leda-class frigates were a ship class of forty-seven 38-gun fifth-rate frigates constructed from 1805 to 1832 for the Royal Navy. Based on a French design, the class came in five major groups, all with minor differences in their design. During their careers, they fought in the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812. Forty-five of the 47 were eventually scrapped; two still exist: and.

Origins

The design of the name ship, of 1800, was based on the French shipwright Jacques-Noël Sané's design for the French Navy's. The British 44-gun fifth rate captured in 1782.. The class of frigates built to the lines of Leda were in contemporary parlance called the 'Repeat Leda class'.
Pomone and Shannon, the second and third ship of the class respectively, was built using Josiah Brindley's patent method of construction which dispensed with 'lodging' and 'hanging knees', oak elements that had to be grown to shape. Oak suitable for shipbuilding had become increasingly difficult to obtain through the long period of warfare. Bindley's fastenings proved to be weak. Captain Philip Broke of Shannon claimed her topsides were weak and "worked like a basket." Shannon was actually in such poor condition by 1813 that she almost missed her engagement with the.

Characteristics and performance

The vessels of the class were fast, most recording large and close-hauled. However, their French-style proportions made them unweatherly compared to frigates designed to British proportions. Many captains requested additions to the frigates' false keels to remedy this. The Leda class stood to their canvas well and liked a stiff gale, but were prone to excessive pitching in very heavy seas. All captains complained of the class's poor stowage capacity, the result of their fine French underwater lines, but stowage improved after the introduction of iron fresh-water tanks. Lastly, captains considered the class to be "wet", a result of lively rolling and pitching causing seams to loosen.

Ships of the class

The name Leda was taken from Greek mythology, as was common at the time; the Greek Leda was a woman whom Zeus seduced while he was masquerading as a swan. After Leda, the Admiralty had no more ships to this design for several years. Then with the resumption of war with France either looming or under way, the Admiralty ordered eight further ships to this design in 1802-09:
In 1812 the Admiralty ordered eight ships to be built of "fir" instead of oak; these were sometimes called the Cydnus class:
The Admiralty ordered seven more vessels to this design in 1812–15, with those constructed in Britain reverting to oak and those constructed in Bombay using teak:
The Admiralty ordered another six vessels in 1816, but of a modified design that incorporated Sir Robert Seppings's circular stern and "small-timber" form of construction:
A further twenty-three ships were ordered to this modified design in 1817, although the last six were never completed, or not completed to this design:
The last six ships of the 1817 orders were never completed to this design:
  • HMS Pegasus – canceled 1831
  • HMS Nemesis – re-ordered to design.
  • HMS Statira – re-ordered to Seringapatam-class design.
  • HMS Jason – re-ordered to Seringapatam-class design.
  • HMS Druid – re-ordered to Seringapatam-class design.
  • HMS Medusa – canceled 1831