Maidstone-class frigate

Design of the Maidstone and Alcmene classes
Class overview
Name	Maidstone-class frigate
Builders	Deptford Dockyard
Operators	Royal Navy
Preceded by	Hermione class
Succeeded by	Thames class
Cost	Maidstone £25,108 Shannon £22,498
Built	1795–1796
In commission	1796–1804
Planned	2
Completed	2
General characteristics [1]
Type	Fifth-rate frigate
Tons burthen	796 17⁄94 (bm)
Length	135 ft (41.1 m) (gundeck) 112 ft 4+1⁄4 in (34.2 m) (keel)
Beam	36 ft 6 in (11.1 m)
Depth of hold	12 ft 6 in (3.8 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Complement	240
Armament	Gundeck: 26 × 12-pounder guns QD: 4 × 6-pounder guns + 4 × 24-pounder carronades Fc: 2 × 6-pounder guns + 2 × 24-pounder carronades

The Maidstone-class frigate was a 32-gun fifth-rate frigate class of two ships designed by Sir John Henslow and ordered on 4 February 1795. The class was a close copy of Henslow's earlier Alcmene class, but was constructed of pitch pine instead of oak. With concerns over whether the lighter building material would safely hold an armament of 18-pounder long guns, the class was instead armed with smaller 12-pounders. Both ships of the class served through the French Revolutionary Wars, but neither had a long career. Shannon was sold at Sheerness Dockyard in May 1802 and Maidstone was placed in ordinary at Chatham Dockyard in 1804 before being broken up in 1810.