Conway-class post ship facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Class overview |
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|---|---|
| Name: | Conway-class post ships |
| Operators: |  Royal Navy |
| Completed: | 10 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Sixth-rate post ship |
| Tons burthen | 444⁄33 (as designed) |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 30 ft 6 in (9.30 m) |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Complement | 155 |
| Armament |
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The Conway class was a group of ten sailing ships built for the Royal Navy (the British navy) around 1812. These ships were designed by Sir William Rule. They were known as "post ships" and were considered "sixth-rate" ships. Most of them were launched in 1814, near the end of the Napoleonic War. One ship, the Tees, was launched a bit later in 1817.
These ships were first called "sloops." But officially, they were rated as "sixth-rate" ships with 20 guns. This was because the smaller 12-pounder carronades (a type of short cannon) they carried were not counted in the official gun rating. In 1817, the rules changed, and then these ships were rated as having 28 guns.
Contents
Ships of the Conway Class
This class included ten ships, all named after rivers. Most were built quickly during the Napoleonic War. Here are the ships and what happened to them:
HMS Mersey
- Built by William Courtney in Chester.
- Launched in March 1814.
- Finished in April 1814 at Plymouth Dockyard.
- Taken apart (broken up) in 1852.
HMS Eden
- Also built by William Courtney in Chester.
- Launched in May 1814.
- Finished in June 1814.
- Broken up in 1833.
HMS Conway
- Built by John Pelham in Frindsbury.
- Launched in March 1814.
- Finished in November 1814.
- Sold in 1825 and became a merchant ship called Toward Castle.
- It was wrecked in 1838.
HMS Tamar
- Built by Josiah & Thomas Brindley in Frindsbury.
- Launched in March 1814.
- Finished in November 1814.
- Sold in 1837.
HMS Dee
- Built by Jabez Bayley in Ipswich.
- Launched in May 1814.
- Finished in October 1814.
- Sold in 1819.
HMS Towey
- Built by Balthazar Adams at Bucklers Hard.
- Launched in May 1814.
- Finished in December 1814.
- Broken up in 1822.
HMS Menai
- Built by Josiah & Thomas Brindley in Frindsbury.
- Launched in April 1814.
- Finished in December 1814.
- Broken up in 1853.
HMS Tyne
- Built by Robert Davy in Topsham, near Exeter.
- Launched in May 1814.
- Finished in November 1814.
- Sold in 1825.
HMS Wye
- Built by Benjamin Hobbs & George Hellyer in Redbridge, Southampton.
- Launched in August 1814.
- Finished in July 1815.
- Broken up in 1852.
HMS Tees
- Built by William Taylor in Bideford.
- Launched later, in May 1817.
- Finished in May 1818.
- Sold in 1872, making it one of the longest-serving ships of its class.
