The French Medee is an early example of the classic sailing frigate: square-rigged, with the main guns on a single continuous upper deck and no guns on the lower deck. That arrangement kept the main armament usable in rougher seas when two-deck ships might have to close their lower ports. Medee was launched in 1741, captured in 1744, sold out of Royal Navy service in 1745, and wrecked off Cornwall later that year. Her brief career still gave the Royal Navy enough experience to adapt French designs into its own 28-gun, then 32- and 36-gun frigates.
Notable Point · 59:30-1:05:06
Medee and the classic sailing frigate
The French Medee illustrates the classic sailing frigate layout that raised the main battery and influenced Royal Navy designs after capture.