HMS Levant was a 28-gun sixth-rate frigate of the , which saw Royal Navy service against France in the Seven Years' War, and against France, Spain and the American colonies during the American Revolutionary War. Principally a hunter of privateers, she was also designed to be a match for small French frigates, but with a broader hull and sturdier build at the expense of some speed and manoeuvrability. Launched in 1758, Levant was assigned to the Royal Navy's Jamaica station from 1759 and proved her worth by defeating nine French vessels during her first three years at sea. She was also part of the British expedition against Martinique in 1762 but played no role in the landings or subsequent defeat of French forces at Fort Royal. The frigate was decommissioned following Britain's declaration of peace with France in 1763, but returned to service in 1766 for patrol duties in the Caribbean. Decommissioned for a second time in 1770, she was reinstated at the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War and sent to the Mediterranean as part of a small British squadron based at Gibraltar. Over the next three years she captured or sank a total of fourteen enemy craft including an 18-gun American privateer. In 1779 she brought home news of an impending Spanish assault on Gibraltar, ahead of Spain's declaration of war on Great Britain. The ageing frigate was finally removed from Navy service later that year, and her crew discharged to other vessels. She was broken up at Deptford Dockyard in 1780, having secured a total of 31 victories over 21 years at sea. Construction Levant was an oak-built 28-gun sixth rate, one of 19 vessels forming part of the of frigates. As with others in her class she was loosely modelled on the design and dimensions of , launched in 1756 and responsible for capturing five French privateers in her first twelve months at sea. Orders from Admiralty to build the Coventry-class vessels were made after the outbreak of what was later called the Seven Years' War, at a time when the Royal Dockyards were fully engaged in constructing or fitting-out the Navy's ships of the line. Consequently, and despite some Navy Board misgivings, contracts for most Coventry-class vessels were issued to private shipyards, with an emphasis on rapid completion. The contract for Levants construction were issued on 20 May 1757 to shipwright Henry Adams of Buckler's