Coventry-class frigate

These 28-gun sailing frigates of the sixth rate were designed in 1756 by Sir Thomas Slade "to the draught of the Tartar with such alterations withinboard as may be judged necessary". A total of twelve ships were built in oak during the Seven Years' War, all ordered from private shipyards; eleven of them were built over the relatively short period of three years; the twelfth was completed following the close of that war in a royal dockyard as its original contractor became bankrupt, and one further ship to this design was also built postwar in a royal dockyard.

A variant was designed for building with fir hulls rather than oak; this variant design, to which five further vessels were built (see second batch below), all in the royal dockyards, differed in some respects, notably by having a square tuck stern. The use of this material meant that they could be built much more rapidly than their oak near-sisters, but the fir deteriorated quickly, so that they had a considerably shorter life.

More than a quarter-century after the design was produced, two further oak-built ships to this design were ordered to be built by contract in October 1782. One of these was cancelled a year later when the builder became bankrupt.

First batch
4 oak-built ships
 * Coventry
 * Ordered: 13 April 1756
 * Built by: Henry Adams, Bucklers Hard.
 * Keel laid: 31 May 1756
 * Launched: 30 May 1757
 * Completed: 31 July 1757 at Portsmouth Dockyard.
 * Fate: Taken by the French Navy in the Bay of Bengal 12 January 1783.
 * Lizard
 * Ordered: 13 April 1756
 * Built by: Henry Bird, Rotherhithe.
 * Keel laid: 5 May 1756
 * Launched: 7 April 1757
 * Completed: 1 June 1757 at Deptford Dockyard.
 * Fate: Hulked as a hospital ship 1800, and sold at Sheerness Dockyard 22 September 1828.
 * Liverpool
 * Ordered: 3 September 1756
 * Built by: John Gorill & William Pownall, Liverpool.
 * Keel laid: 1 October 1756
 * Launched: 10 February 1758
 * Completed: 26 July 1758 at the builder's shipyard.
 * Fate: Wrecked in Jamaica Bay, Long Island 11 February 1778.
 * Maidstone
 * Ordered: 3 September 1756
 * Built by: Thomas Seward, Rochester.
 * Keel laid: 1 October 1756
 * Launched: 9 February 1758
 * Completed: 7 April 1758 at Chatham Dockyard.
 * Fate: Taken to pieces at Sheerness Dockyard in July 1794.

Second batch
5 fir-built ships
 * Boreas
 * Ordered: 18 April 1757
 * Built by: Woolwich Dockyard.
 * Keel laid: 21 April 1757
 * Launched: 29 July 1757
 * Completed: 6 September 1757
 * Fate: Sold 29 June 1770.
 * Hussar
 * Ordered: 18 April 1757
 * Built by: Chatham Dockyard.
 * Keel laid: 3 May 1757
 * Launched: 23 July 1757
 * Completed: 17 August 1757
 * Fate: Taken by the French off Cape Francois on 23 May 1762.
 * Shannon
 * Ordered: 18 April 1757
 * Built by: Deptford Dockyard.
 * Keel laid: 11 May 1757
 * Launched: 17 August 1757
 * Completed: 8 October 1757
 * Fate: Taken to pieces at Portsmouth Dockyard in December 1765.
 * Trent
 * Ordered: 5 May 1757
 * Built by: Woolwich Dockyard.
 * Keel laid: 19 May 1757
 * Launched: 31 October 1757
 * Completed: 23 November 1757
 * Fate: Sold at Portsmouth Dockyard on 26 January 1764.
 * Actaeon
 * Ordered: 5 May 1757
 * Built by: Chatham Dockyard.
 * Keel laid: 26 May 1757
 * Launched: 30 September 1757
 * Completed: 9 November 1757
 * Fate: Sold at Deptford Dockyard on 9 September 1766.

Third batch
9 oak-built ships
 * Active
 * Ordered: 6 May 1757
 * Built by: Thomas Stanton & Co, Rotherhithe.
 * Keel laid: 13 June 1757
 * Launched: 11 January 1758
 * Completed: 2 March 1758 at Deptford Dockyard.
 * Fate: Taken by the French Navy off San Domingo 1 September 1778.
 * Aquilon
 * Ordered: 6 May 1757
 * Built by: Robert Inwood, Rotherhithe.
 * Keel laid: 15 June 1757
 * Launched: 25 May 1758
 * Completed: 30 June 1758 at Deptford Dockyard.
 * Fate: Sold at Deptford 29 November 1776.
 * Cerberus
 * Ordered: 6 May 1757
 * Built by: Pleasant Fenn, East Cowes.
 * Keel laid: 13 June 1757
 * Launched: 5 September 1758
 * Completed: 11 November 1758 at Portsmouth Dockyard.
 * Fate: Burnt to prevent capture at Rhode Island 5 August 1778.
 * Griffin
 * Ordered: 6 May 1757
 * Built by: Moody Janvrin, Bursledon.
 * Keel laid: June 1757
 * Launched: 18 October 1758
 * Completed: 13 March 1759 at Portsmouth Dockyard.
 * Fate: Wrecked off Barbuda 27 October 1761.
 * Levant
 * Ordered: 6 May 1757
 * Built by: Henry Adams, Buckler's Hard.
 * Keel laid: June 1757
 * Launched: 6 July 1758
 * Completed: 16 June 1759 at Portsmouth Dockyard.
 * Fate: Taken to pieces at Deptford Dockyard in September 1780.
 * Argo
 * Ordered: 19 September 1757
 * Built by: Henry Bird, Rotherhithe.
 * Keel laid: 22 September 1757
 * Launched: 20 July 1758
 * Completed: 29 January 1759 at Deptford Dockyard.
 * Fate: Taken to pieces at Portsmouth Dockyard in November 1776.
 * Milford
 * Ordered: 19 September 1757
 * Built by: Richard Chitty, Milford.
 * Keel laid: November 1757
 * Launched: 20 September 1759
 * Completed: 28 December 1759 at builder's shipyard.
 * Fate: Sold at Woolwich Dockyard on 17 May 1785.
 * Guadeloupe
 * Ordered: 19 September 1757
 * (originally ordered from John Williams, Neyland (Pembs.), but the ordered was transferred to Plymouth Dockyard following Williams's bankruptcy in 1758.)
 * Re-ordered: 29 June 1758
 * Built by: Plymouth Dockyard.
 * Keel laid: 8 May 1759
 * Launched: 5 December 1763
 * Completed: 11 July 1764.
 * Fate: Scuttled in York River, Virginia on 10 October 1781, but salved by the French Navy in which service she was maintained until 1786.
 * Carysfort
 * Ordered: 4 February 1764
 * Built by: Sheerness Dockyard.
 * Keel laid: June 1764
 * Launched: 23 August 1766
 * Completed: 11 August 1767
 * Fate: Sold at Deptford Dockyard on 28 April 1813.

Final batch
2 oak-built ships, only 1 completed
 * Hind
 * Ordered: 2 October 1782
 * Built by: Sheerness Dockyard.
 * Keel laid: February 1783
 * Launched: 22 July 1785
 * Completed: 24 November 1787 at Deptford Dockyard.
 * Fate: Taken to pieces at Deptford Dockyard in July 1811.
 * Laurel
 * Ordered: 22 October 1782
 * Built by: Philemon Jacobs, Sandgate.
 * Cancelled: 7 October 1783.