What lets a frigate hurt a first-rate ship

Would submachine guns give a frigate a chance against a first-rate ship, and what weapon would help?

Explosive-shell artillery could threaten the wooden hull; small arms would not close the gap.

Submachine guns would not give the frigate the needed advantage over a first-rate ship. High-explosive artillery is the proposed alternative, with a five-inch weapon suggested. Later fighting involving wooden ships illustrates the destructive effect of explosive shells. The examples raised are the Japanese civil war around the Meiji Restoration and the Battle of Lissa.