View source for HMS Griffin (1758)

{{short description|Coventry-class Royal Navy frigate}}
{{other ships|HMS Griffin}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=File:Carysfort cropped.jpg
|Ship caption=''Griffin'' was built to the same design as {{HMS|Carysfort|1766|6}}, (pictured)
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=Great Britain
|Ship flag=[[File:Naval Ensign of Great Britain (1707-1800).svg|60px|Royal Navy Ensign]]
|Ship name=HMS ''Griffin''
|Ship ordered=6 May 1757
|Ship builder=Moody Janverin, [[Bursledon]]
|Ship laid down=June 1757
|Ship launched=18 October 1758
|Ship acquired=
|Ship completed=13 March 1759 at Portsmouth Dockyard
|Ship commissioned=October 1758
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship renamed=
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship honours=
|Ship captured=
|Ship fate=Wrecked off [[Barbuda]], 27 October 1761
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class= 28-gun [[Coventry class frigate|''Coventry''-class]] [[sixth-rate]] [[sailing frigate|frigate]]
|Ship tons burthen=598 <small>{{fraction|52|94}}</small> [[Builder's Old Measurement|bm]]
|Ship length=*{{convert|118|ft|4.5|in|m|1|abbr=on}} (gundeck)
*{{convert|97|ft|7|in|m|1|abbr=on}} (keel)
|Ship beam={{convert|33|ft|11.5|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught=
|Ship hold depth={{convert|10|ft|6|in|m|2|abbr=on}}
|Ship sail plan=[[Full-rigged ship]]
|Ship complement=200 officers and men
|Ship armament=*28 guns comprising:
*Upperdeck: 24 × 9-pounder guns
*Quarterdeck: 4 × 3-pounder guns
*12 × ½-pdr [[swivel gun]]s
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''HMS ''Griffin''''' was a 28-gun [[Coventry class frigate|''Coventry''-class]] [[sixth-rate]] [[Sailing frigate|frigate]] of the [[Royal Navy]].

== Construction ==
''Griffin'' was an oak-built 28-gun sixth-rate, one of 18 vessels forming part of the ''Coventry''-class of frigates. As with others in her class she was loosely modeled on the design and dimensions of {{HMS|Tartar|1756|6}}, launched in 1756 and responsible for capturing five French privateers in her first twelve months at sea.<ref>Winfield 2007, p. 227</ref> Admiralty contracts for ''Griffin''{{'}}s construction were issued to commercial shipwright Moody Janverin of [[Bursledon]] on 16 May 1757, with a stipulation that work be completed within twelve months. Her keel was laid down in June 1757 but work proceeded slowly and the vessel was not launched until 18 October 1758. On 26 October she was sailed to the Royal Navy dockyard at [[Portsmouth Dockyard|Portsmouth]] where she was armed and supplied for service at sea.<ref name=Winfield230>Winfield 2007, p. 230</ref>

The vessel was named after the [[griffin]], a [[legendary creature]] with the body, tail, and [[hindlimb|back legs]] of a [[lion]], the head and wings of an [[eagle]], and an eagle's talons as its front feet. The choice of name followed a trend initiated in 1748 by [[John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich]], in his capacity as [[First Lord of the Admiralty]], of using figures from [[classical antiquity]] as descriptors for naval vessels. A total of six ''Coventry''-class vessels were named in this manner; a further ten were named after geographic features including regions, English or Irish rivers, or towns.<ref name=Winfieldb>Winfield 2007, pp. 227–231</ref><ref name=Manning>{{cite journal|last=Manning|first=T. Davys|title=Ship Names|journal=The Mariner's Mirror|volume=43|issue=2|publisher=Society for Nautical Research|location=Portsmouth, United Kingdom|pages=93{{ndash}}96|doi=10.1080/00253359.1957.10658334|year=1957}}</ref>{{efn|The three exceptions to these naming conventions were {{HMS|Hussar|1757|2}}, {{HMS|Active|1758|2}} and the final vessel in the class, {{HMS|Hind|1785|2}}<ref name=Winfieldb/><ref>Winfield 2007, p. 240</ref>}}

As built, ''Griffin'' was {{convert|118|ft|4.5|in|m|1|abbr=on}} long with a {{convert|97|ft|7|in|m|1|abbr=on}} keel, a beam of {{convert|33|ft|11|in|m|abbr=on}}, and measuring 598<small>{{fraction|52|94}}</small> [[Builder's Old Measurement|tons burthen]]. Her armament comprised 24 [[Naval long gun|nine-pounder cannons]] located along her gun deck, supported by four three-pounder cannons on the [[quarterdeck]] and twelve {{fraction|1|2}}-pounder [[swivel guns]] ranged along her sides. Her crewing complement was 200 officers and men.<ref name=Winfield230/> In sailing qualities she was broadly comparable with French frigates of equivalent size, but with a shorter and sturdier hull and greater weight in her [[Broadside (naval)|broadside]] guns. She was also comparatively broad-beamed with ample space for provisions and the [[mess|ship's mess]], and incorporating a large [[magazine (firearms)|magazine]] for [[gunpowder|powder]] and [[round shot]].{{efn|''Griffin''{{'}} dimensional ratios 3.57:1 in length to breadth, and 3.3:1 in breadth to depth, compare with standard French equivalents of up to 3.8:1 and 3:1 respectively. Royal Navy vessels of equivalent size and design to ''Griffin'' were capable of carrying up to 20 [[long ton|tons]] of powder and shot, compared with a standard French capacity of around 10 tons. They also carried greater stores of [[rigging]], [[spar (sailing)|spar]]s, sails and [[Wire rope|cables]], but had fewer ship's boats and less space for the possessions of the crew.<ref name=GardinerS1>Gardiner 1992, pp. 115{{ndash}}116</ref>}} Taken together, these characteristics would enable ''Griffin'' to remain at sea for long periods without resupply.<ref name=GardinerS1/><ref name=GardinerS>Gardiner 1992, pp. 107{{ndash}}108</ref> She was also built with broad and heavy masts, which balanced the weight of her hull, improved stability in rough weather and made her capable of carrying a greater quantity of sail. The disadvantages of this comparatively heavy design were a decline in manoeuvrability and slower speed when sailing in light winds.<ref name=GardinerS2>Gardiner 1992, pp. 111{{ndash}}112</ref>

Her designated complement was 200, comprising two [[Officer (armed forces)#Commissioned officers|commissioned officers]] {{ndash}} a [[Captain (naval)|captain]] and a [[lieutenant (navy)|lieutenant]] {{ndash}} overseeing 40 [[Warrant officer|warrant]] and [[petty officer]]s, 91 [[naval rating]]s, 38 [[Royal Marines|Marines]] and 29 servants and other ranks.<ref name=Rodger348>Rodger 1986, pp. 348{{ndash}}351</ref>{{efn|The 29 servants and other ranks provided for in the ship's complement consisted of 20 personal servants and clerical staff, four assistant carpenters an assistant sailmaker and four widow's men. Unlike naval ratings, servants and other ranks took no part in the sailing or handling of the ship.<ref name=Rodger348/>}} Among these other ranks were four positions reserved for [[widow's man|widow's men]] {{ndash}} fictitious crew members whose pay was intended to be reallocated to the families of sailors who died at sea.<ref name=Rodger348/>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
*{{cite book|last=Gardiner|first=Robert|title=The First Frigates: Nine-Pounder and Twelve-Pounder Frigates, 1748–1815|year=1992|location=London|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|isbn=0851776019}}
* {{cite book|last=Rodger|first=N. A. M.|title=The Wooden World: An Anatomy of the Georgian Navy|year=1986|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=0870219871}}
* {{cite book | last = Winfield| first = Rif|title = British Warships of the Age of Sail 1714{{ndash}}1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates | publisher =  Seaforth| location=Barnsley, United Kingdom|year = 2007|isbn=9781844157006}}

{{Coventry class frigate}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin (1758)}}
[[Category:Frigates of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:1758 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built on the River Hamble]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1761]]