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internet. When the British Admiralty decided to build eight new fifth-rate
frigates in 1778, the question of selecting appropriate names for each of
the vessels quite naturally presented itself. Reflecting the classical taste
of contemporary England one of the frigates was named ASTREA (1) after the
goddess of justice, the daughter of Zeus and the last divinity to leave
earth when the Golden Age had passed away. Although several warships had
been graced with a variety of Greek and Latin mythological names in earlier
times, a large number of men-of-war were given classical names in the late
eighteenth century. The fourth Earl of Sandwich, who was serving as First
Lord of the Admiralty in 1778 for the third time since 1748, is commonly
held responsible for this trend. The ASTREA was to be a 32 gun frigate of
689.27 tons burden (2) with an overall length of 140 feet, the length of
the lower deck being 126 feet, a beam of slightly more than 35 feet, and
a draft of 17 feet forward and 17 and a half feet aft. She was built at
East Cowes, Isle of Wright, and launched in 1781. After having been rigged
and fitted out she was commissioned in Portsmouth on October 1st, 1781.
A total of 220 men and officers made up her roster, and she was finally
ready to do her duty in the Royal Navy |
