frigate, originally a long, narrow nautical vessel used on the Mediterranean, propelled by either oars or sail or both. Later, during the 18th and early 19th cent., the term was applied to a very fast, square-rigged sailing vessel carrying 24 to 44 guns on a single flush gun deck. Frigates were employed by the European naval powers in large numbers as commerce raiders and for blockade duty. In the United States before the War of 1812, Joshua Humphreys designed a number of frigates superior to any other vessels of their class in speed and armament. With the introduction of steam and steel warships in the middle of the 19th cent., frigates as a class of warship passed out of use. However, during World War II frigates were reintroduced by the British as a form of antisubmarine escort larger than a corvette and smaller than a destroyer. Destroyer-type ships called frigates are important combat vessels today; however, there is no clearcut uniform distinction between a frigate and a destroyer. Modern frigates are often armed with antisubmarine weapons and guns; many are missile-armed and some are nuclear-powered. The nuclear-powered frigate U.S.S. Truxtun, launched in 1964, was the largest destroyer-type ship ever built.

See F. Dorovan, The Tall Frigates (1962); J. Henderson, The Frigates (1970); Jane's Fighting Ships (pub. annually since 1897).

or man-o'-war bird

Great frigate bird (Fregata minor).

Any member of five species of large seabirds constituting the family Fregatidae, found worldwide along tropical and semitropical coasts and islands. About the size of a hen, frigate birds have extremely long, slender wings, which span up to about 8 ft (2.3 m), and long, deeply forked tails. Most adult males are all black; most females are marked with white below. Both sexes have a bare-skinned throat pouch, tiny feet, and a long hooked bill that is used to attack and rob other seabirds of their fish. The courting male's throat pouch becomes bright red and is inflated to the size of a person's head. Perhaps the most aerial of all birds except the swifts, frigate birds land only to sleep or tend the nest.

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Battle between the frigates HMS Shannon and USS Chesapeake off Boston during the War elipsis

Either of two different types of warships, of the 17th–19th centuries and of World War II and after. The sailing ship known as a frigate was a three-masted, fully rigged vessel, often carrying 30–40 guns in all. Smaller and faster than ships of the line, frigates served as scouts or as escorts protecting merchant convoys; they also cruised the seas as merchant raiders themselves. With the transition to steam, the term gradually gave way to cruiser. In World War II, Britain revived the term frigate to describe escort ships equipped with sonar and depth charges and used to guard convoys from submarines. In the postwar decades frigates also adopted an antiaircraft role, adding radar and surface-to-air missiles. Modern frigates may displace more than 3,000 tons (2,700 metric tons), sail at a speed of 30 knots, and carry a crew of 200.

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For the bird, see Frigatebird.

A frigate /ˈfrɪgɪt/ [frĭg'-ĭt] is a warship. The term has been used for warships of many sizes and roles over the past few centuries.

In the 18th century, the term referred to ships which were as long as a ship-of-the-line and were square-rigged on all three masts (full rigged), but were faster and with lighter armament, used for patrolling and escort. In the 19th century, the armoured frigate was a type of ironclad warship and for a time was the most powerful type of vessel afloat.

In modern navies, frigates are used to protect other warships and merchant-marine ships, especially as anti-submarine warfare (ASW) combatants for amphibious expeditionary forces, underway replenishment groups, and merchant convoys. But ship classes dubbed "frigates" have also more closely resembled corvettes, destroyers, cruisers and even battleships.

The rank Frigate Captain derives from the name of this type of ship.

The age of sail


The term "frigate" (Italian: fregata; Spanish/Catalan/Portuguese/Sicilian: fragata; Dutch: "fregat") originated in the Mediterranean in the late 15th century, referring to a lighter galleass type ship with oars, sails and a light armament, built for speed and maneuverability.

In 1583, during the Eighty Years' War, Habsburg Spain recovered the Southern Netherlands from the rebellious Dutch. This soon led to the occupied ports being used as bases for privateers, the Dunkirkers, to attack the shipping of the Dutch and their allies. To achieve this they developed small, maneuverable, sail-only vessels that came to be referred to as frigates. Because most regular navies required ships of greater endurance than the Dunkirker frigates could provide, the useful term 'frigate' was soon applied less exclusively to any relatively fast and elegant sail-only ship, such that much later even the mighty English was described as 'a delicate frigate' after modifications in 1651.



The fleets built by the Commonwealth of England 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 relates directly to speed (see hull speed) and also, 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.


The classic frigate




In 1797, the US Navy's first major ships were 44-gun frigates (or "super-frigates"), which actually carried fifty-six to sixty 24-pounder long guns and 36-pounder or 48-pounder carronades on two decks, and 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, after a series of losses at the outbreak of the War of 1812, Royal Navy fighting instructions ordered British frigates (usually of 38-guns or less) to never engage American frigates at any less than a 2:1 advantage. The , better known as "Old Ironsides", the oldest commissioned ship afloat, is a surviving example of a frigate from the Age of Sail.

The role of the frigates



For officers in the Royal Navy a frigate was a desirable posting. Frigates often saw action, which meant a greater chance of glory, promotion. and prize money.



Frigates remained a crucial element of navies until the mid-19th century. The first ironclads were classified as 'frigates' because of the number of guns they carried. However, terminology changed as iron and steam became the norm, and the role of the frigate was assumed first by the protected cruiser and then by the destroyer.

Frigates are often the vessel of choice in historical naval novels, such at the Patrick O'Brian Aubrey–Maturin series and C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower series. The motion picture Master and Commander features a reconstructed historic frigate, HMS Rose to depict Aubrey's frigate HMS Surprise.

The age of steam

Vessels classed as frigates continued to play a great role in navies with the adoption of steam power in the 19th century. In the 1830s navies experimented with large paddle-steamers equipped with large guns mounted on one deck, which were termed 'paddle frigates'. From the mid-1840s frigates which more closely resembled the traditional sailing frigate were built with steam engines and screw propellers. These 'screw frigates', built first of wood and later of iron, continued to perform the traditional role of the frigate until late in the 19th century.


Towards the end of the 19th century, the term 'frigate' fell out of use. Armoured vessels were designated as either 'battleships' or 'armoured cruisers', while unarmoured vessels including frigates and sloops were classified as 'unprotected cruisers'.

Second World War


The contemporaneous German Flottenbegleiter ("fleet escorts"), also known as "F-Boats" were essentially frigates. They were based on a pre-war Oberkommando der Marine concept of vessels which could fill roles such as fast minesweeper, minelayer, merchant escort and anti-submarine vessel. Because of the Treaty of Versailles their displacement was officially limited to 600 tons, although in reality they exceeded this by about 100 tons. F-boats had two stacks and two 105 mm gun turrets. The design was flawed because of its narrow beam, sharp bow and unreliable high pressure steam turbines. F-boats suffered relatively heavy losses and were succeeded in operational duties later in the war by Type 35 and Elbing class torpedo boats. Flottenbegleiter remained in service as advanced training vessels.

It was not until the Royal Navy's Bay class of 1944 that a British design bearing the name of frigate 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 them 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). One of the most successful post-1945 designs was the British Leander class frigate, which was used by several navies.

Guided missile frigates

The introduction of the surface-to-air missile after the Second World War made relatively small ships effective for anti-aircraft warfare (AAW): 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.


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) greatly reduced the margin of speed superiority of frigate over submarine. 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 surface-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 with 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 task 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.

Modern developments

Stealth technology has been introduced in modern frigate design. Frigate shapes are designed to offer a minimal radar cross section, which also lends them good air penetration; the maneuverability of these frigates has been compared to that of sailing ships. Examples are the French La Fayette-class with the Aster 15 missile for anti-missile capabilities, and the German F125 class and Sachsen class frigates.


Also in the German Navy frigates were used to replace aging destroyers; however in size and role the new German frigates exceed the former class of destroyers. The future German F125 class frigate will be the largest class of frigates worldwide with a displacement of 7,200 tons. The same was done in the Spanish Navy, which went ahead with the deployment of the first Aegis frigates, the F-100 class frigates.


Modern frigates gallery

See also

Lists of frigates


Sail frigates
Steam frigates
Modern frigates
Current frigates
Australia Australia
Austria Austria
Canada Canada
China China
Croatia Croatia
Denmark Denmark
Egypt Egypt
France France France France
Germany Germany Germany Germany
Greece Greece Greece
Italy Italy Italy Italy
Netherlands Netherlands
New Zealand New Zealand
Norway Norway
Pakistan Pakistan
Peru Peru Peru
Portugal Portugal Portugal Portugal
Romania Romania Romania Romania
Russia Russia Russia
Spain Spain Spain
Turkey Turkey Turkey
United Kingdom United Kingdom United Kingdom United Kingdom
United States United States United States United States
Republic of China (Taiwan) Taiwan
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia




  • Military Heritage did a feature on frigates and included the British Rating System (John D. Gresham, Military Heritage, February 2002, Volume 3, No.4, pp. 12 to 17 and p. 87).
  • Lavery, Brian. The Ship of the Line, Volume 1: The Development of the Battlefleet, 1650–1850. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 1983. ISBN 0870216317.
  • Lavery, Brian. The Ship of the Line, Volume 2: Design, Construction and Fittings. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 1984. ISBN 0870219537.
  • Winfield, Rif. The 50-Gun Ship. London: Caxton Editions, 1997. ISBN 1840673656, ISBN 1861760256.
  • Mahan, A.T., The Influence of Sea Power Upon History 1660-1783, Cosimo, Inc., 2007
  • Sondhaus, L. Naval Warfare, 1815-1914
  • Lambert, Andrew Battleships in Transition, the Creation of the Steam Battlefleet 1815-1860, published Conway Maritime Press, 1984. ISBN 0-85177-315-X
  • Gardiner, Robert & Lambert, Andrew, (Editors), Steam, Steel and Shellfire: The Steam Warship, 1815-1905 (Conway's History of the Ship series), Book Sales, 2001
  • Royal Navy Frigates 1945-1983 Leo Marriot, Ian Allan, 1983, ISBN 0-7110-1322-5

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