HMS Actaeon (1757)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Actaeon.

History
Great Britain
Name:	HMS Actaeon
Ordered:	5 May 1757
Builder:	Chatham Dockyard
Laid down:	26 May 1757
Launched:	30 September 1757
Completed:	9 November 1757
Commissioned:	September 1757
Fate:	Sold to be taken to pieces at Deptford 9 September 1766
General characteristics
Class & type:	28-gun Coventry-class sixth-rate frigate
Tons burthen:	584 ​81⁄94 bm
Length:	118 ft 2.75 in (36.0 m) (gundeck) 97 ft 3 in (29.6 m) (keel)
Beam:	33 ft 7.5 in (10.2 m)
Depth of hold:	10 ft 6 in (3.20 m)
Sail plan:	Full-rigged ship
Complement:	200 officers and men
Armament:	28 guns comprising: Upperdeck: 24 × 9-pounder guns Quarterdeck: 4 × 3-pounder guns 12 × ​1⁄2-pounder swivel guns

HMS Actaeon was a 28-gun Coventry-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy.

Construction

The Actaeon was one of five frigates of the class built of fir rather than oak. Fir was cheaper and more abundant than oak and permitted noticeably faster construction, but at a cost of a reduced lifespan; the four fir-built Coventry-class vessels that did not get captured lasted an average of only nine years before being struck off.

References

• Robert Gardiner, The First Frigates, Conway Maritime Press, London 1992. ISBN 0-85177-601-9.
• David Lyon, The Sailing Navy List, Conway Maritime Press, London 1993. ISBN 0-85177-617-5.
• Rif Winfield, British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1714 to 1792, Seaforth Publishing, London 2007. ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6.