Rating system of the Royal Navy
- There are six rating articles (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th) in the rating system of the Royal Navy.
The rating system of the Royal Navy was used between the 1670s and early 19th century to categorise sailing warships of the Royal Navy of its power to stand in a line of battle based on the number of guns.
When first established, first-rates were ships of exactly 100 guns, second-rates 90 guns, third-rates 70 guns, and fourth-rates 54-60 guns. As time passed, and different ships were built with greater or fewer numbers of guns, the term was expanded to include the ranges listed below.
Although the rating system was only used by the Royal Navy, British authors might still use "first-rate" when referring to the largest ships of other nations or "third-rate" to speak of a French 74. By the end of the 18th century, the rating system had mostly fallen out of common use, ships of the line usually being characterized directly by their number of guns, the numbers even being used as the name of the type, as in "a squadron of three 74s".
Rating system
The number of crew on a first rate was increased by 25 when used as an Admiral's flagship, by 20 with a Vice Admiral and 15 with a Rear Admiral.
Originally from http://www.cronab.demon.co.uk/gen1.htm, with the author's permission.
First-rates were the largest ships of the line, but tended to be slow and invariably expensive to operate. As a result, the few first-rates were typically reserved as commanding admirals' flagships.
A second-rate had lighter guns on their middle and upper decks.
Powerful and able to fight in the center of a line of battle, second-rates were sometimes criticised for being slow and hard to maneuver. Where a first-rate vessel was considered too expensive or vulnerable to risk, a second-rate often served as a flagship.
A third-rate ship of the line had two gun decks (thus the related term two-decker) and included the 74-gun ship, the most popular size of large ship for navies of several different nations. It was an easier ship to handle than a first or second rate ship, but still possessed enough firepower to potentially destroy any single opponent. It was also cheaper to operate.
A fourth-rate sailing frigate was considered too weak to stand in the line of battle. The few that remained were relegated to convoy escort, or as flagships on far-flung stations.
A fifth-rate frigate acted as fast scouts or independent cruisers.
A sixth-rate frigate was the smallest.
The term first-rate has passed into general usage, as an adjective used to mean something of the best or highest quality available.
Third-rate is also used as an adjective to mean that something is of inferior quality.
See also
