Indefatigable began as a 64-gun Ardent-class third rate before conversion into a 44-gun razee frigate in 1794. Her battery combined twenty-six 24-pounders with twelve 12-pounders and six 42-pounder carronades, giving a nominal fifth rate unusually heavy striking power. Under Sir Edward Pellew, she led independent frigate squadrons that swept up enemy trade and warships in rapid succession. She is credited, alone or in company, with roughly a hundred captures across the best-recorded part of her career. Her combination of line-of-battle structure, frigate employment, and effective leadership shows why a converted heavy fifth rate could outperform the conventional fourth-rate compromise.
Chapter · 31:28-36:30
Indefatigable as a heavy fifth-rate alternative
The razed Indefatigable paired ship-of-the-line strength with frigate employment, making her an exceptionally effective commerce-war squadron leader.