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frigate, either of two different types of small and fast warships, either square-rigged sailing ships of the 17th–19th century or radar- and sonar-equipped antisubmarine and air-defense ships of World War II and after.

The Seven Years’ War (1756–63) marked the definite adoption of the term frigate for a class of vessel that was smaller than the three-decked ship of the line but was still capable of considerable firepower. A frigate was a three-masted, fully rigged vessel, with its armament carried on a single gun deck and with additional guns on the poop and forecastle. The number of guns varied between 24 and 56, but 30 to 40 guns were common. Frigates could not stand up to ships of the line in fleet engagements, but, sailing at greater speed, they served as scouts or as escorts protecting merchant convoys from privateers and enemy raiders; they also cruised the seas as merchant raiders themselves. With the transition from sail to steam, the term frigate gradually gave way to cruiser.

During World War II, Great Britain revived the name frigate by assigning it to a small escort ship used to guard convoys from submarines. This vessel displaced about 1,500 tons, was capable of 20 knots, and was equipped with asdic, or sonar, and depth charges. In the guided-missile age, the frigate also has adopted an antiaircraft role, adding radar and surface-to-air missiles to its antisubmarine gear. Many frigates now carry helicopters to aid in submarine hunting. Such a vessel displaces upward of 3,000 tons, has a top speed of 30 knots or more and carries a crew of about 200.

For three decades after World War II, the U.S. Navy applied the term frigate to a type of escort ship that was somewhat larger than a destroyer. In 1975 these ships were reclassified as cruisers and destroyers, and the United States then used frigate in the same sense as most other navies.

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