Porcupine-class post ship
Introduction The '''''Porcupine''-class''' sailing sixth rates were a series of ten 24-gun post ships built to a 1776 design by John Williams, that served in the Royal Navy during the American War Of Independence. Some survived to serve again in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars. The first two were launched in 1777.Three were launched in 1778, three more in 1779, and the last two in 1781.
Design John Williams, the Surveyor of the Navy, designed the class as a development of his earlier design (1773) for the 20-gun ''Sphinx'' class. The 1776 design enlarged the ship, which permitted the mounting of an eleventh pair of 9-pounder guns on the upper deck and two smaller (6-pounder) guns on the quarterdeck.
Ships in class The Admiralty ordered ten ships to this design over a period of two years. The contract for the first ship was agreed on 25 June 1776 with Greaves, for launching in July 1777; the second was agreed with Adams on 6 August 1776, for launching in May 1777.The contract price for each was £10½ per ton BM; they were named ''Porcupine'' and ''Pelican'' by Admiralty Order on 27 August 1776.The contract price for ''Penelope'' was £11½ per ton BM. Name   Ordered  Builder  Begun  Launched  Completed  Fate ''Porcupine''21 June1776Edward Greaves, LimehouseJuly 177617 December1777 14 February 1778at Deptford DockyardBroken up at Woolwich in April 1805. ''Pelican''24 July1776Adams & Barnard, DeptfordAugust 177624 April1777 12 June 1777at Deptford DockyardWrecked off Jamaica in August 1781. ''Eurydice''24 July1776Portsmouth DockyardFebruary 177726 March1781 3 June 1781Broken up at Deptford in March 1834. ''Hyaena''9 October1776John Fisher, LiverpoolMay 17772 March1778 January 1779at Portsmouth DockyardSold at Deptford in February 1802. ''Penelope''13 November1776Peter Baker, Liverpool28 June 177725 June1778 20 December 1778at Plymouth DockyardFoundered in hurricane in October 1780. ''Amphitrite''8 January1776Deptford Dockyard2 July 177728 May1778 22 July 1778Wrecked off Livorno in January 1794. ''Crocodile''8 January1777Portsmouth DockyardFebruary 177725 April1781 12 June 1781Wrecked off Prawle Point in Mat 1784. ''Siren''30 September1777James Baker, Newcastle-upon-Tyne21 January 177829 July1779 4 March 1780at Sheerness DockyardWrecked off Seaford in January 1781. ''Pandora''11 February1778Adams & Barnard, Deptford2 March 177817 May1779 3 July 1779at Deptford DockyardWrecked in Torres Strait in August 1791. ''Champion''11 February1778John Barnard, HarwichApril 177817 May1779 14 August 1779at Sheerness DockyardSold at Sheerness in August 1816.
References * Rif Winfield, ''British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1714-1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates'', Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley (2007). .