The Lively class were a successful class of sixteen British Royal Navy 38-gun sailing frigates.
The Lively class were a series of sixteen ships built to a 1799 design by Sir William Rule, which served in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. The prototype and name ship of the class was HMS Lively of 1804. In contemporary usage the class was referred to as the 'Repeat Lively class'. As such the prototype ship was not considered to be part of the class at the time.
They were considered the most successful British frigate design of the period, much prized by the Navy Board; after the prototype was launched in 1804 (by which time four more frigates had already been ordered to the same design), a further eleven sister-ships were ordered to her design, although this was slightly modified (in 1805) to have the gangways between forecastle and quarterdeck more integrated into the upperworks, a step towards the final enclosure of the waist. This was reinforced in 1809 by the abandonment of breastworks at the break of the quarterdeck and forecastle and in 1810 by the narrowing of the waist by the addition of gratings inboard of the gangways. At the same date, 'top riders', angled reinforcing timbers for the upperworks, were discontinued.
The United States Navy ordered a frigate to the design of the captured HMS Macedonian in 1832, which was launched in 1836 as USS Macedonian.
The captain's reports on the performance of this class were remarkable for their absence of serious criticism. The vessels of the class were fast, recording 13kts large and 10-11kts close-hauled, weatherly and manoeuvrable. They were excellent heavy-weather ships, perfectly able to cope with a "head sea." They stowed their provisions well; they were capable of stowing provisions and freshwater for up to six months of cruising. Indeed "riding light," after a substantial proportion of fresh water and provisions had been consumed, affected their sailing qualities adversely, so that most captains filled any emptied freshwater stowage capacity with seawater.
HMS Lively
Builder: Woolwich Dockyard
Ordered: 15 October 1799
Laid down: November 1801
Launched: 23 July 1804
Completed: 27 August 1804
Fate: Wrecked off Malta on 10 August 1810.
HMS Resistance
Builder: Charles Ross, Rochester
Ordered: 7 November 1803
Laid down: March 1804
Launched: 10 August 1805
Completed: 19 October 1805 at Chatham Dockyard.
Fate: Broken up April 1858 at Chatham Dockyard.
HMS Apollo
Builder: George Parsons, Bursledon.
Ordered: 7 November 1803
Laid down: April 1804
Launched: 27 June 1805
Completed: 26 September 1805 at Portsmouth Dockyard.
Fate: Broken up October 1856 at Portsmouth Dockyard.
HMS Hussar
Builder: Balthasar & Edward Adams, Bucklers Hard.
Ordered: 7 November 1803
Laid down: March 1806
Launched: 23 April 1807
Completed: 27 June 1807 at Portsmouth Dockyard.
Fate: Burnt by accident 1861 at Shoeburyness.
HMS Undaunted
Builder: Woolwich Dockyard
Ordered: 7 November 1803 from Joseph Graham at Harwich; this builder became bankrupt in 1806 and the contract was transferred to Woolwich Dockyard on 6 January 1806.
Laid down: April 1806
Launched: 17 October 1807
Completed: 2 December 1807
Fate: Broken up at Portsmouth in December 1860.
HMS Statira
Builder: Robert Guillaume, Northam, Southampton.
Ordered: 4 June 1805
Laid down: December 1805
Launched: 7 July 1807
Completed: 26 August 1807 at Portsmouth Dockyard.
Fate: Wrecked off Cuba on 26 February 1815.
HMS Horatio
Builder: George Parsons, Bursledon.
Ordered: 15 June 1805
Laid down: July 1805
Launched: 23 April 1807
Completed: 4 August 1807 at Portsmouth Dockyard.
Fate: Sold to break up 1861 at Charlton.
HMS Spartan
Builder: Charles Ross, Rochester
Ordered: 24 August 1805
Laid down: October 1805
Launched: 16 August 1806
Completed: 6 October 1806 at Chatham Dockyard.
Fate: Broken up April 1822 at Plymouth Dockyard.
HMS Menelaus
Builder: Plymouth Dockyard
Ordered: 28 September 1808
Laid down: November 1808
Launched: 17 April 1810
Completed: 21 June 110 at Plymouth Dockyard.
Fate: Sold 10 May 1897 to be broken up.
HMS Nisus
Builder: Plymouth Dockyard
Ordered: 28 September 1808
Laid down: December 1808
Launched: 3 April 1810
Completed: 15 June 110 at Plymouth Dockyard.
Fate: Broken up at Plymouth September 1822.
HMS Macedonian
Builder: Woolwich Dockyard
Ordered: 28 September 1808
Laid down: May 1809
Launched: 2 June 1810
Completed: 6 July 1810 at Chatham Dockyard
Fate: Captured by United States 25 October 1812. Served as USS Macedonian. Broken up 1834.
HMS Crescent
Builder: Woolwich Dockyard
Ordered: 28 September 1808
Laid down: September 1809
Launched: 11 December 1810
Completed: 2 February 1811
Fate: Sold to be broken up 1854.
HMS Bacchante
Builder: Deptford Dockyard
Ordered: 12 June 1809
Laid down: July 1810
Launched: 16 March 1811
Completed: 25 January 1812
Fate: Broken up 1858.
HMS Nymphe
Builder: George Parsons, Warsash.
Ordered: 14 December 1810
Laid down: January 1811 as HMS Nereide (renamed later that year)
Launched: 13 April 1812
Completed: 22 June 1812 at Portsmouth Dockyard
Fate: Broken up 1875.
HMS Sirius
Builder: Richard Blake & John Tyson, Bursledon.
Ordered: 14 December 1810
Laid down: September 1811
Launched: 11 September 1813
Completed: 29 September 1815 at Portsmouth Dockyard
Fate: Broken up 1862.
HMS Laurel
Builder: John Parsons & John Rubie, Warsash.
Ordered: 21 March 1812
Laid down: July 1812
Launched: 31 May 1813
Completed: 13 September 1813 at Portsmouth Dockyard
Fate: Sold to be broken up 1885.
