Originally, a vessel of the Mediterranean propelled by sails and by oars. The French, about 1650, transferred the name to larger vessels, and by 1750 it had been appropriated for a class of war vessels intermediate between corvettes and ships of the line. Frigates, from about 1750 to 1850, had one full battery deck and, often, a spar deck with a lighter battery. They carried sometimes as many as fifty guns. After the application of steam to navigation steam frigates of largely increased size and power were built, and formed the main part of the navies of the world till about 1870, when the introduction of ironclads superseded them.
Any small vessel on the water.
Escort vessel designed to provide air, surface and undersea defence to naval forces and convoys. It is capable, if required, of conducting sustained independent operations to achieve a variety of missions.
a small warship, generally with twenty to thirty cannon, too small to be a man-o'-war, but usually fast and powerful enough to hunt pirate ships.
Next in importance to ships of the line, the frigate was used for cruising, scouting, and support of the fleet. Frigates were three or more masted, fully rigged, with up to 50 guns.
a light, swift vessel, generally around 10 tuns, having one or two square-rigged sails.
In mission days a frigate was a three-masted sailing ship. In most navies, a frigate is the smallest surface combatant that can conduct extended blue-water missions. The raid on Alta California in 1818 was led by frigate, La Argentina, a 677-ton vessel outfitted with 34 eight- and 12-caliber guns, and carrying a crew of about 260 men.
frigg-ette i) A naval escort vessel between a corvette and a destroyer in size, ii) a similar ship between a destroyer and a cruiser in size, iii) a warship next in size to ships of the line.
a medium size square-rigged warship of the 18th and 19th centuries
a United States warship larger than a destroyer and smaller than a cruiser
a class of ship developed during WWII - essentially it is a destroyer specialized for anti-sub work
a light-weight, fast and nimble warship
vessel smaller than destroyer; cruiser; fast sailing ship smaller than ship of line.
a fast, medium-sized warship chiefly used for escort duty
A warship used primarily for escort duty. Most frigates are between 4,000 to 9,000 displacement tons and they are often larger than destroyers but smaller than cruisers. Earlier definition of frigate
A type of warship developed in the eighteenth century, mounting from approximately twenty to as many as fifty guns, mostly 6, 9, and 12-pounders.
A speedy and maneuverable light warship, smaller than the ships-of-the-line or men-of-war.
a swift, rather narrow vessel, using oars and sails
