The sloop is described as a full naval build in the interwar and World War II comparison. Frigates occupy an intermediate position using naval and civilian construction, while corvettes draw more heavily on civilian practice. On that basis, an older sloop could be a more thoroughly military ship than a frigate. Postwar retention and standardization around the frigate name then changed the apparent relationship between the labels.
Notable Point · 3:22:05-3:23:01
Sloops, frigates and corvettes had different build standards
The wartime construction comparison explains why older sloop and frigate labels do not map neatly onto present usage.