Sphinx-class post ship facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Class overview
Name:	Sphinx-class post ships
Operators:	Royal Navy
Completed:	10
General characteristics
Type	Sixth-rate post ship
Tons burthen	431 37/94 (as designed)
Length	108 ft (33 m) (gundeck) 89 ft 7.375 in (27.31453 m) (keel)
Beam	30 ft 1 in (9.17 m)
Depth of hold	9 ft 8 in (2.95 m)
Propulsion	Sail
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	140 (reduced to 134 in 1794).
Armament	UD: 20 × 9-pounder guns QD (added 1794): 4 × 12-pounder carronades FC (added 1794): 2 × 12-pounder carronades

The Sphinx-class ships were a group of ten sailing ships built for the Royal Navy in the 1770s. They were designed by John Williams in 1773. These ships were called post ships. Even though they were smaller than true frigates, naval officers sometimes called them frigates by mistake.

The first ship of this class was launched in 1775. Six more followed in 1776, two in 1777, and the last one in 1781. These ships played a part in the American Revolutionary War. Three of them, Sphinx, Ariel, and Unicorn, were captured by the French Navy. However, Sphinx and Unicorn were later taken back by the British. Some of these ships even continued to serve in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.

Meet the Sphinx-Class Ships

This section lists all ten ships of the Sphinx-class. You can see when they were ordered, built, and what happened to them.