The Royal Navy's Neptune-class second rates counter the idea that only France used repeat designs. Temeraire and Neptune belonged to that class, while HMS Prince belonged to the London class. Captured French-built ships such as Belleisle and Tonnant placed foreign designs inside the British order of battle. Tonnant even retained the name that identified her original French class. An Age of Sail class could remain in production for decades and absorb changes while retaining a recognizable family relationship. Some vessels differed enough in design or construction history to merit treatment as individual ships.
Notable Point · 38:26-42:23
Age of Sail ships still came in classes
Navies built ship classes before modern industrial standardization, but long production runs left more room for variation and evolution.