Frigate

The frigate emerged in the 17th century as the fast cruiser of the sailing navy—a ship designed not for the line of battle but for independent operations: scouting, convoy escort, commerce raiding, and showing the flag on distant stations. Where ships of the line slugged it out in fleet engagements, frigates were the workhorses that controlled sea lanes and projected power.

The design prioritized speed and seaworthiness over firepower. Frigates typically carried guns on a single deck, compared to the two or three decks of ships of the line. This made them faster and more maneuverable, able to catch merchantmen and escape battleships. Their smaller crews and provisions requirements allowed extended cruises that larger ships could not sustain.

The term derives from the Mediterranean fregata, a type of galley, but the sailing frigate was a distinctly Atlantic development. English, Dutch, and French naval architects competed to produce faster, more weatherly designs. The race produced continuous innovation: coppering hulls to prevent fouling, refining hull shapes for speed, optimizing sail plans for different wind conditions.

Frigates performed the missions that won and lost wars. They intercepted enemy communications, protected friendly commerce, and transported important passengers. Nelson's fleet at Trafalgar was screened by frigates; without them, he would have fought blind.

The frigate's golden age was the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Constitution, President, and United States—American frigates built slightly larger and more heavily armed than European counterparts—proved devastatingly effective against British frigates in the War of 1812, forcing design changes across Atlantic navies.

Steam power eventually ended the sailing frigate era. The ironclad and the torpedo boat changed naval warfare fundamentally. But the frigate concept—a medium-sized warship for independent operations—persists in modern navies. Today's guided-missile frigates are conceptual descendants of the sailing cruisers that once made empires viable.